The Philadelphia Flyers have tendered a massive offer sheet to Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson. 5 years, $90 million, or $18 million a year, is the offer that the Ducks now must decide whether or not they will match, or let him walk to Philly.

Of course, if they do decide to let him go to the Flyers, the Ducks would receive the Flyers’ first-round pick in the next 4 NHL Drafts.

Regardless of where he ends up, Carlsson will become the league’s highest-paid player.

Ducks’ GM Pat Verbeek has said that he will match any offer sheet given to Carlsson. Obviously, it was said as a tactic to get teams to stop sniffing around the possibility of giving Carlsson an offer sheet. Danny Briere called Verbeek’s bluff.

It’s been a quiet summer so far for the Ducks, who have strategically left cap space open to be flexible for Carlsson. However, the Flyers did not decide to make Carlsson the league’s highest-paid player for no reason. There is strategy to this.

Per PuckPedia, the Ducks would have a remaining $17,173,395 in cap space, including Carlsson’s $18 million this season. Including Carlsson, they would have 12 forwards, 5 defencemen, and 3 goalies remaining under contract.

At a very minimum, they have to sign 1 more forward and 2 more defensemen, not including other moves for camp and such.

Among the forwards left for the Ducks to sign is Cutter Gauthier, who is coming off a 40-goal season as a 21/22-year-old. They also have to re-ink defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, who could be looking at a decent-sized payday, and at least one other defenseman. Mintyukov is an RFA, as is Gauthier. However, Gauthier is ineligible for an offersheet, so his leverage would come from yet another trade request if the Ducks don’t give him a fair offer.

$17.1 million is plenty of money to sign 3 players. However, with Mintykov projected to get something in the $4-6 million range and Gauthier possibly commanding more than $8 million a year, cap space can get tight real quick for the Ducks.

Following his trade request from the Flyers, Gauthier has become quite the villain in Philadelphia. However, he has the opportunity to be the Flyers’ biggest help right now by commanding a big deal. That could make the cap situation in Anaheim really uncomfortable, leading to the decision not to match the Carlsson offer sheet and just taking the picks.

If you were the Ducks, would you match the Flyers’ offer?

Update

ESPN NHL Insider Kevin Weekes dropped some intel that he learned later in the week. Per conversations Weekes had over the last week with sources, the Ducks were hoping for somewhere in the $10-12 million range for Carlsson and Gauthier on their next deals.

Knowing that Beckett Senecke is next in line for a payday, the Ducks were trying to keep their numbers lower.

If Gauthier wants something closer to that $12 million range, which is very possible, it will make things even more tight. That would leave the Ducks with a little more than $5 million to sign Mintyukov and another skater.

Gauthier is a very important player to the Flyers right now.

Read More: Flyers Give Leo Carlsson a Massive Offer Sheet; Philly Awaits Ducks Decision