The NHL was thrown on its ear on Friday by the news that the Philadelphia Flyers had signed Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson to a five-year, $90 million offer sheet, making him the highest-paid player in the NHL. The 21-year-old was selected second overall in 2023 and scored a career-high 29 goals in his third NHL season. The Flyers, desperate to acquire a top-line center, are prepared to surrender four first-round picks as compensation if the Ducks do not match the offer sheet by July 10.
Anaheim did not dip into free agency on July 1 and cleared out restricted free agent defenseman Olen Zellweger in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres last week because they were holding back cap space to sign RFA’s Carlsson, winger Cutter Gauthier and defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, but are now in a vulnerable position if they match the offer sheet, since it will leave Anaheim only $17 million in cap space to re-sign Gauthier (who scored 41 goals last season), and add to a short-handed defensive corps.
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Ducks GM Pat Verbeek had a chance to sign Carlsson to an extension throughout last season, but his modus operandi was on display last summer with forward Mason McTavish, who held out until training camp before signing a seven-year, $49 million extension (he was traded to St. Louis last weekend).
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Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen wisely was proactive on the restricted free agent front with winger Zach Benson, signing the 21-year-old to a seven-year, $52.5 million extension before becoming eligible for an offer sheet. While it is always speculated that offer sheets will become the rule rather than the exception, the increasing salary cap and the gentleman’s agreement between rival GM’s may be going the way of the do-do bird, which will force teams like the Ducks and the Sabres to either match deals to young emerging players for more money than they would choose to, or prepare to accept draft pick compensation and become feeder systems for more financially powerful clubs.
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The Sabres trade of goalie Devon Levi to Edmonton for a 2028 third round pick last week left the club with a pair of young and inexperienced goalies in 2022 secoond-rounder Topias Leinonen and 21-year-old Scott Ratzlaff. The pair split time between AHL Rochester and ECHL Jacksonville last season, but totalled only 21 games with the Amerks, leaving the Sabres affiliate without a full time starter. On Saturday, the club signed veteran minor-leaguer Matt Villalta to a one-year, two-way contract.
The 27-year-old spent last season with AHL Tucson (AHL affiliate of the Utah Mammoth) and had a 16-12-3 record, 3.10 GAA, and .895 save percentage in 33 games.
A third-round draft pick by Los Angeles in 2017, Villalta has seven years of AHL experience between the Ontario Reign and Roadrunners, and will likely split duties with one or both of the Sabres young goalies in Rochester, while the other will get playing time in Jacksonville.
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