While it may have taken some time, the shockwaves the Philadelphia Flyers sent through the Anaheim Ducks with their $90 million offer sheet to Leo Carlsson are starting to form visible cracks.

Because the Ducks matched the five-year, $18 million AAV deal signed by their 21-year-old budding star, they are now severely limited on cap space, left with just $9 million to sign young 40-goal-scorer Cutter Gauthier to a new contract--an amount not expected to be nearly enough.

Veteran contributors like Chris Kreider, Alex Killorn, and Frank Vatrano have all emerged as trade candidates with the Ducks in dire need of cap space, and other NHL teams are aware of that fact, meaning the Ducks may not get anything substantive in return with their lack of leverage.

The Flyers have forced the Ducks into an unwinnable position, even though their true intentions were to sign Carlsson.

Credit to the Ducks for being unwavering in their stance, but we're now starting to see the unintended consequences.

The latest example is that 2026 first-round pick Nikita Klepov, who was included on Michigan State University's roster just one day prior, signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Ducks on Saturday, making him ineligible for collegiate play.

Now, instead of playing college hockey at any point in his development, Klepov has two options: back to the CHL with the OHL's Saginaw Spirit, or make the NHL outright with the Ducks.

Because the Flyers forced such a massive contract upon the Ducks and left them in need of spare cash, the Ducks will need as many low-money contributors as they can to replace the likes of Kreider, Killorn, and Vatrano if and when they are traded.

As an 18-year-old on an ELC, Klepov has a cap hit of just $1.075 million, plus some potential for performance bonuses.

For comparison, Vatrano, the cheapest of the trio, comes with a $4.571 million cap charge.

It may very well not turn out to be the end of the world, but it certainly seems that the Flyers may have forced the Ducks to consider giving Klepov a real run at an NHL roster spot fresh out of the 2026 draft just because they needed to save some money.

Klepov, the 15th overall pick, is talented and absolutely deserving of his draft status, but being thrown right into a competitive NHL environment is far from ideal for his development.

Gauthier has the power to create a favorable outcome for the Ducks with his next contract, but that doesn't seem likely at this stage. Take it from the Flyers.