The Anaheim Ducks matched the Philadelphia Flyers' five-year, $90-million offer sheet for No. 1 center Leo Carlsson on Thursday.

Carlsson's new contract carries a league-high $18-million cap hit. Anaheim passed up four first-round picks of compensation from the Flyers by not letting Carlsson go to Philadelphia.

"Matching the offer sheet was an easy decision, as (Ducks GM Pat Verbeek) has intelligently left enough cap space to give us the ability to retain Leo," Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli said in a news release.

"We have extremely high expectations for Leo," they added. "We firmly believe he will continue his strong growth trajectory and become one of the truly elite centers in the league, while continuing to make a strong impact in our community."

Verbeek said the Ducks have viewed Carlsson as a franchise player since meeting him before the 2023 NHL draft, when they selected him second overall.

"He's a character person on and off the ice," Verbeek said. "Leo is viewed as a top player in this league, and it was always our intention to match any offer sheet."

Carlsson, 21, had 29 goals and 38 assists for 67 points in 70 games this past season, as well as 11 points in 12 playoff games.

The 6-foot-3, 208-pound pivot from Karlstad, Sweden, has 61 goals and 80 assists for 141 points in 201 career NHL games.

The Ducks now have about $9 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia.

While Anaheim cannot trade Carlsson for one year from Thursday after matching the offer, that was likely never an option the Ducks considered.

"We are very happy to have Leo under contract for five years," Verbeek said.

Anaheim also re-signed RFA defenseman Pavel Mintyukov to a five-year contract worth $7.2 million annually on July 5.

Their top remaining RFA is left winger Cutter Gauthier, who is not eligible for arbitration or an offer sheet. The 22-year-old led the Ducks in scoring this past season, with 41 goals and 69 points in 76 games.

If Gauthier wants more than half of Carlsson's new cap hit, the Ducks will need to move some salary around.

They could move Troy Terry's $7-million cap hit to long-term injured reserve before the season starts, but he's expected to recover from surgery that repaired a hip injury in November or December.

Depending on how much Gauthier receives on a new deal, the Ducks may have to trade at least two players, which will hurt their depth one year after making the playoffs and eliminating the Edmonton Oilers to advance to the second round.

Six Ducks players have some form of modified no-trade clause, according to PuckPedia.

Beyond the 2026-27 season, Beckett Sennecke will be able to sign a contract extension next summer. The Ducks also have to make sure they have cap space for him as well.

As for the Flyers, they still have a lot of business to take care of this month.

Center Trevor Zegras, 25, is an RFA who filed for arbitration. He's coming off a 67-point campaign in his first year with the Flyers after the Ducks traded him last off-season. His previous cap hit was $5.75 million.

Defenseman Jamie Drysdale, who joined the Flyers from the Ducks in the Gauthier trade of January 2024, is another RFA who filed for arbitration. In 78 games this past season, the 24-year-old had eight goals and 32 points, both career highs. Drysdale's previous cap hit was $2.3 million.

Right winger Nikita Grebenkin, 23, is an RFA who cannot sign an offer sheet or file for arbitration. He had four goals and 14 points in 55 games in 2025-26.

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