Leo Carlsson Opens Up On Signing Flyers Offer Sheet & Returning to Anaheim

The shock of the outrageous $18 million AAV offer sheet is over now. The Anaheim Ducks have spurned the Philadelphia Flyers' attempt to spirit away top-line center Leo Carlsson by matching the five-year deal on Thursday. 

For the first time since signing the offer sheet with Philly, Carlsson has opened up about the experience—why he did it, and how he felt about the whole thing. 

When it comes right down to it, it was simply an offer he couldn't refuse. 

Leo Carlsson: "It was an offer that 99% of people would sign too. It's a pretty simple answer. I really wanted to be here though. I really wanted them to match. I want to be an Anaheim Duck."@SportingTrib | #FlyTogether

— Zach Cavanagh (@ZachCav) July 9, 2026

"It was an offer that 99% of people would sign too. It's a pretty simple answer. I really wanted to be here, though. I really wanted them to match. I want to be an Anaheim Duck."

Carlsson: 'I really wanted them to match'

Carlsson added that he spoke to his teammates about it, and they were very supportive.

“It’s more like when you see that number, it’s hard to say no, which my teammates understand too, completely. They would’ve done the same thing.

“It was just too good to pass on. I think everybody understands that, too. I talked to my teammates a lot, too, and everybody was just super happy for me and supportive with the decisions I made, too…I don’t think I had one bad reaction. They were all super happy for me or super stoked for me. They just said that I deserve it, and hope that I stayed.”

With the Ducks matching, he will be staying in Anaheim for the next half-decade.

Verbeek admits he 'did not see that one coming'

Ducks GM Pat Verbeek has been blamed by many observers for his notorious tough negotiating stances of the past, leading to the stunning offer sheet, and letting it get to this point. He also spoke to the media today. 

"We were prepared to accept offer sheets, with all the cap space that we had... Now, did we expect the offer sheet to be this high? No. We did not see that one coming, but we're very confident in the sense that, with the cap going up and with the ability of Leo to make great strides of improvement and become an elite player, we feel confident that this contract will be a good one in the end."

Carlsson will be the highest-paid player in the NHL going into the 2026-27 season. Kirill Kaprizov, and his $17M AAV extension signed last year, never even got a chance to be top dog, as his deal doesn't kick in until this coming season. 

Cale Maker and Quinn Hughes will be next up to top Carlsson, but their next contracts won't kick in until the 2027-28 season.