Flyers' offer sheet for Leo Carlsson is one of NHL's boldest moves in years

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek has said that he will match any offer sheet for both Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier, and the Flyers have simply called his bluff on that as it relates to Carlsson.

Is Carlsson an $18 million per year player right now? No. He is not. That is what the elites of the elite in the NHL get, and Carlsson is not quite on that level. But he is still only 21 years old and has all of the traits you want to see for a player to eventually become a top-tier center.

He has improved all three years he has been in the NHL and is coming off 67 points in 70 games this past season. He drives possession. He is on his way to becoming a No. 1 center with his best days still ahead of him. 

It is exactly the type of player every team wants to build their team around.

From a Flyers perspective, it's a worthy gamble. They are not a team that is likely to be picking at the very top of the draft, and this is a potential pathway to finding a much-needed elite talent down the middle. Carlsson would also fit in with a lot of their young talent, including forwards Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, Tyson Foerster and Owen Tippett. 

It's the type of move that could help build the foundation of a Stanley Cup-contending team in the not-too-distant future if it all works.

There is also another sub-plot to all of this.

Gauthier, Anaheim's other top restricted free agent, was originally a first-round draft pick of the Flyers and was traded to Anaheim after he very publicly did not want to sign with the Flyers. It created some bad blood between two teams that would otherwise have no rivalry, and this could be seen as a major revenge play by the Flyers against both Gauthier and the Ducks.  

Verbeek has a reputation for being an intense negotiator with restricted free agents, and in past years, it has drawn out right up until training camp with some of his top players. Carlsson may have seen that and jumped at the opportunity to not only become the highest-paid player in the league but also avoid that headache. 

Now Verbeek has to make a massive decision that will significantly impact two up-and-coming franchises for the foreseeable future.

Does he pay the money?

Or does he take the draft picks and hope?

It's not an easy decision. And it is not a great position for him to be in.