Daniel Briere’s aggressive gamble forces a historic standoff, leveraging four first-round picks to make the young Swede the NHL’s highest-paid star and reshape Anaheim’s financial future.
Three days after the opening of free agency and one day after a report surfaced stating the Anaheim Ducks would match any offer sheet signed by franchise center Leo Carlsson, the Philadelphia Flyers signed Carlsson to a five-year offer sheet that carries an AAV of $18 million.
This offer sheet would carry a compensation of four unprotected first-round picks from the Philadelphia Flyers (2027-2030) should the Ducks allow Carlsson to go. The Ducks have until July 10 to decide whether to match the offer or accept the compensation.
This signing renders Carlsson (21) the highest-paid NHL player for the 2026-27 season, surpassing Kirill Kaprizov’s $17 million AAV.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek has been a notoriously shrewd negotiator with RFAs and specifically so with RFAs coming off of their ELCs. He typically refrains from taking the more proactive route and negotiating before contracts expire, electing to leverage his position as best he can. Verbeek won’t have that opportunity with Carlsson, and this may have the potential of altering his approach moving forward.
Offer sheets in the NHL had been a rare occurrence in the past due to loyalty to fellow general managers, fear of retaliation, or a combination of the two. This was the 14th offer sheet signed since the 2004-05 lockout and the eighth since 2012.
This will be the first offer sheet signing in NHL history to reach the “four first-round pick” compensation tier.
The Philadelphia Flyers have been desperate to add a first-line center in recent years, and Flyers GM Daniel Briere has chosen a bold and aggressive route to achieve that goal. Even if the offer sheet is matched, he would have successfully impacted the salary structure of an opponent.
