Ducks Match Leo Carlsson Offer Sheet

He ended up second on the Ducks in scoring with 67 points through 70 games this season, two points behind Gauthier for Anaheim’s scoring lead. He set new single-year career bests in points, goals, and assists while he led the Ducks in points per game (.96), was second in points, goals, power-play points (with 18), and tied for second in assists. His 29 goals were the second-most in a single season by a Duck aged 21 or younger, and he became one of three Ducks skaters all-time to post multiple 20-goal seasons before age 22. The performance was a major stride forward after Carlsson potted 45 points in 76 games of the 2024-25 season.

Carlsson, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, had 29 points in 55 games as a rookie. His 12 goals tied Stanislav Chistov‘s Ducks record set in 2002-03 for most scored by a teenager. Now, the 21-year-old has demonstrated he can be his team’s top center through three seasons in the league. He signed his entry-level contract after he was named the Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year. His 25 points in 44 games for Orebro earned him player of the year honors and were the most by a junior player in the SHL, only behind former draft-eligible player in the SHL; Daniel Sedin (42 points in 1998-99), Henrik Sedin (34 points in 1998-99), Elias Lindholm (30 points in 2012-13) and Nicklas Backstrom (26 points in 2005-06).

The Karlstad native will make $90MM until 2031, when he’ll be 26-years-old. His 17.3% cap hit nearly takes up the entirety of what the Ducks are currently paying their entire defense, which takes up 21.6% of the team’s cap hit this coming season. Jackson LaCombe‘s $9MM as of today stands as the second-highest paid Duck for 2026-27, and that is only half of what Carlsson is earning.

Great news for the Ducks, but consider that they still need to work out a contract with Cutter Gauthier this offseason while they have a little over $9MM in cap space left. They just signed Pavel Mintyukov to a lengthy extension at $7.2MM AAV after trading away Olen Zellweger to Buffalo’s backend, where he took a shorter term and a lower AAV. Alas, Anaheim will boast $40MM in cap space next offseason with Carlsson on their books. Veterans Alex Killorn and Chris Kreider will be UFA’s in 2027, as well as young defensemen Drew Helleson and Tristan Luneau, who will be up for renegotiation as well.

Around the NHL, a few players in Carlsson’s range, including first and third overall picks from 2023 in Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, respectively, would ideally see their other top-3 draft class selections’ situation and view themselves receiving significant paygrades as well. The question now begs for teams with young elite talents like the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets, is: What are our players going to want? And along with that, is it in our best interest to take the first four first-round picks? San Jose must consider this soon as well with Macklin Celebrini.

The obvious answer could be no to the latter half of that question, but given how much of a dent $18MM or more, could be for a team with a player so early in their career, and the surrounding young talent that will also require their paydays, it all must be considered when weighing the decision that has a looming clock tick over a respective GM’s head like Verbeek and the Ducks just went through.

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