The Philadelphia Flyers just made a $90 million offer sheet to Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson. This has quickly raised speculations about the contract Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard could eventually sign.

 Philadelphia offered Carlsson a five-year deal worth $18 million annually last Friday. This immediately makes him the highest-paid player in the NHL annually.

The move had people questioning whether the Flyers considered a similar approach toward Bedard, too. This question was discussed on the Chicago sports podcast "The Stretch." 

"There have been rumors that Philly pivoted to Carlsson because they offered Bedard. And he said no," cheif said according to a post by Wally Mazurek on X.

On that same weekend, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman also talked about Bedard's situation on his own podcast, "32 Thoughts," and said he did not know about any offer sheet activity involving Bedard from Philadelphia or any other club.

"Now, I don't know that the Blackhawks have any reason to be concerned here. And I think, generally, the player and team have an excellent relationship," Friedman said. "I just personally wouldn't chance anything anymore."

Bedard has been a player on his entry-level contract for all three of his NHL seasons and is openly looking for a new deal in the range of $17 million annually. This is close to what Kirill Kaprizov signed with the Minnesota Wild. Carlsson's $18 million benchmark now gives Bedard a new standard to demand.

Even though Bedard has outproduced Carlsson in points, goals, and assists through their first three NHL seasons. The Blackhawks have already given Bedard a qualifying offer and have publicly announced that a long-term extension is the top priority.

The Carlsson Offer Sheet Situation

The Flyers signed Carlsson as the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft to a five-year offer sheet last Friday. Anaheim had about seven days from the signing to match the contract. This was discussed in detail in an article from Yahoo Sports.

The Ducks decline, Philadelphia could send its next four first-round draft picks to Anaheim as compensation, one for each year of the deal.

Carlsson holds a record of 29 goals and 38 assists for 67 points in 70 games last season. He added four goals and seven assists in 12 playoff games as Anaheim reached the second round. 

This contract single-handedly makes him the NHL's highest-paid player by average annual value, ahead of the established stars like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews.

Reports indicate that at least four teams pursued Carlsson before Philadelphia went on to acquire him. Anaheim has said that it would have attempted to match the contract for their young centre if it weren't for their limited salary cap.

And doing that would make it difficult for them to re-sign other core players. 

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Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi