NHL star says signing Leo Carlsson at record $18 million a year could end up being a steal

The talk of the NHL has been all about the Philadelphia Flyers swooping in and offering Anaheim Ducks RFA Leo Carlsson a behemoth, five-year deal with an $18 million AAV.

That's a hefty price to pay, and it will make Carlsson the highest-paid player in the league whether he heads to Philly or the Ducks match.

However, Florida Panthers star Brady Tkachuk thinks that whoever takes on the 21-year-old center's $18 million cap hit could be getting a deal.

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Brady and his brother, Matthew, talked about the offer sheet on their "Wingmen" podcast as the Ducks' window to match the offer sheet continues to close.

"Eighteen million is not an overpay whatsoever," Brady said, to which his brother and teammate, Matthew Tkachuk, agreed. "Unbelievable; he comes as advertised. Eighteen million is probably going to be underpaid. That's how good this player is."

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Tkachuk is probably right, especially as the cap continues to go up. When stars like San Jose's Macklin Celebrini and Chicago's Connor Bedard become eligible for new contracts, they could easily surpass Carlsson's deal.

Of course, the Ducks' problem isn't whether Carlsson is worth $18 million a year — if GM Pat Verbeek thought he wasn't, this offer sheet never would've materialized. The real issue is whether Anaheim has the cap space to match it.

The bind Flyers GM Danny Briere created is that the Ducks had just under $18 million in projected cap space when the offer sheet arrived. They then re-signed defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, leaving them with roughly $9 million.

But they also have to consider extensions for future RFAs Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke, which makes matching Carlsson not only harder, but riskier.

The Ducks have until Friday to make a decision, and if they don't match it, they will receive a boatload of first-round picks from the Flyers as compensation.