Leo Carlsson is sitting on a five-year, $18 million-a-year offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers, and Danny Briere might have badly undersold a franchise center.
The report came from Elliotte Friedman on Monday, and it wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement of the number the Flyers landed on.
Friedman said the Flyers went back and forth on whether they'd actually get Carlsson at that price, and admitted he was a little surprised they didn't go higher.
That's not a small detail. That's the reporter closest to these deals saying the offer itself looks light.
Elliotte Friedman: Re Leo Carlsson offer sheet/Flyers: I think one of the things they kinda went back and forth about was, would they really get the player; I'm a little bit surprised they didn't go even higher.
Carlsson posted 67 points in 70 games this season, with 29 goals and 38 assists. He added 11 points in 12 playoff games too.
This is a 21-year-old center with size, skill and a track record of producing against real competition. Eighteen million a year for that is a bargain if it holds.
Why the Ducks now have a brutal decision to make
Anaheim sits at 43-33-6 on the season, 92 points, and 17th overall. Joel Quenneville's team has been streaky, winning its last outing but going 2-6-2 over its last ten.
Pat Verbeek built this thing around Carlsson as a cornerstone piece. Losing him for picks, even significant ones, would gut the timeline he's been building.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, is humming. Rick Tocchet's group sits 43-27-12, 98 points, 11th overall, winners of three straight and 7-3-0 over its last ten.
Briere isn't dealing from weakness here. He's dealing from a position where the Flyers can absorb a swing for the fences and still be fine if it fails.
Here's the part that should worry Anaheim fans. If Verbeek matches, he's locking in a $18 million cap hit on a kid who hasn't hit restricted free agency arbitration years yet, a number that could look team-friendly in two seasons or completely reasonable right now depending how Carlsson's game keeps trending.
If he doesn't match, Philadelphia just turned a division rival's identity player into their own top-six piece for a price that might be an absolute robbery.
Bringing in a young number one center like this is a bit like buying a house before the neighborhood gets hot. Either you overpaid for empty potential, or everyone else is about to feel dumb for not moving first.
Briere isn't afraid of these swings. He's the same GM who has shown he'll test rival front offices when he sees an opening.
The clock is now on Anaheim. Verbeek has a limited window to match, and every day this sits unresolved is a day Ducks fans have to sweat out losing their best young forward for futures.
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Nobody's saying $18 million is nothing. But if Friedman's own sourcing says the Flyers debated going higher, that tells you something about how this front office values Carlsson compared to how Anaheim might.
Should the Anaheim Ducks match the Flyers' offer sheet and keep Leo Carlsson at any cost?
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