Carlsson’s big-money offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers, along with Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini and Cale Makar’s monster contract extensions, have changed the financial landscape for players like Gauthier. Even “smaller” deals like that of the Ducks’ Pavel Mintyukov or the Boston Bruins’ Fraser Minten, in combination with the continued rising of the salary cap, have put the ball in the players’ court when it comes to collecting larger salaries moving forward.
