Ducks Match Carlsson’s $90M Offer; Swedish Center Becomes NHL’s Highest-Paid Player

The Anaheim Ducks matched Philadelphia’s five-year, $90 million offer sheet for Leo Carlsson, keeping the Swedish center in Anaheim and away from a division rival. The choice wasn’t without sacrifice: the Ducks could have walked away and collected four first-round picks from the Flyers, but keeping their cornerstone talent won out.

Carlsson will earn $18 million per year, making him the highest-paid player in NHL history on an annual basis. That tops Kirill Kaprizov’s previous mark of $17 million AAV from the year before.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Carlsson has shown why Anaheim was willing to spend big. Last season, he scored 29 goals and added 38 assists across 70 games, while controlling 53.4% of the expected goals when he was on the ice at five-on-five.

The Ducks now face a cap crunch. They have just over $9 million in cap space, yet still need to sign 22-year-old Cutter Gauthier, who scored 41 goals last season. The team has already locked in defenseman Pavel Mintyukov with a five-year, $36 million contract.

By 2026-27, Carlsson will sit alone at the top of the NHL’s payroll. Kirill Kaprizov (MIN) comes in second at $17 million AAV, with Leon Draisaitl (EDM) at $14 million, Jack Eichel (VGK) at $13.5 million, and Auston Matthews (TOR) at $13.25 million rounding out the elite tier.