While the Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson’s $90M offer sheet caught the NHL world by storm, it wasn’t just the Philadelphia Flyers bidding for him.

Ducks GM Pat Verbeek matched the numbers, making Carlsson the league's highest-paid center in the 2026-27 season. However, Carlsson’s agents, Matt and Ryan Keator, revealed that some other teams were also eager to land the center.

“We weren’t expecting it,” the agents recently revealed on Sportsnet Journalist Elliotte Friedman’s 32 Thoughts podcast. “We had seven or eight teams inquire that day, and four teams were ready to make offers pretty right away. They wanted to be in the mix. We were blown away by it a bit.”

Per the Keators, teams reached out on June 30. And much before the Flyers' offer sheet made headlines on July 3, their unbelievable numbers prompted the agents to talk with the Ducks and Carlsson.

“We did have discussions with the Ducks that day, and said this could be coming into play,” they added. “But on July 1, we sent Leo (Philadelphia’s) contract offer in writing, and he was speechless. I think he was overwhelmed by the structure, how it was front-loaded, almost all in signing bonuses.”

Many of these details remained behind the scenes, allowing criticism to surge about Verbeek’s negotiation tactics. However, the Keators lifted the veil from that too.

Why Verbeek Drew Criticism And What the Agents Say

Matching Carlsson’s number put a dent in the Ducks’ salary cap, which is approximately $9M now, with left wing Cutter Gauthier still unsigned. The main criticism was that Verbeek should’ve locked in Carlsson before it got to this point. However, the Keators shed light on a different angle.

“The season ended, and the Ducks were in touch right away… It was us saying ‘no’ to negotiating at that point,” they revealed in the same podcast. “This whole process was basically our decision in terms of going in this direction. I know Anaheim did everything they could to get him signed.”

The Keators originally waited for Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard to set the market and carry on Carlsson’s negotiation from there. Eventually, that delay landed Carlsson the $90M offer sheet.

Whether this restores Verbeek’s image or not, Carlsson will be bagging $18M AAV for the next 5 years. And that says a lot about his agents’ skills.

Do you agree? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Deblina Roy