July 04, 2026
Gary A. Vasquez/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Flyers did their part. Now they have to wait and see if it's enough for Leo Carlsson to trade in orange sweaters.
It was always about patience for the Flyers, never passiveness.
And if anyone thought otherwise before, Friday's offer sheet to star center Leo Carlsson – which has been submitted, signed, and will pay the 21-year-old the highest annual cap hit in the NHL no matter what happens now – should spell it out clearly: They're serious. They've always been.
The Flyers put a five-year, $90 million offer on the table for Carlsson, the Anaheim Ducks' franchise center and their top restricted free agent this summer, and he was up for it. Anaheim now has until July 10 to decide to match it if they want to keep him.
If this works in general manager Danny Brière's favor, then the Flyers get the true top of the lineup center they've been looking for, the fans get a skyrocketing star they've been clamoring for, and the team's whole trajectory likely launches to the moon along with it.
If it doesn't, the Flyers walk away still holding the four first-round draft picks they would've had to forfeit as offer sheet compensation, and would at least have the rest of the league in shock, and leave a ton of other GMs fearful over the fact that the offer sheet is now a live threat that can be tossed at any second to drastically dictate star RFA negotiations and destroy a team's cap management plans.
And it sends the message, too, that, successful attempt or not, the Flyers are out there, they're aggressive, and when you think they're about to go quiet, that's when they're at their most dangerous.
The Flyers got to the end of free agency's first day on Wednesday, and their biggest moves were only internal, while fans were only growing more anxious for that major trade or signing from the outside – after hearing and only really getting to daydream about it for the past three years.
And those contract extensions to goalie Dan Vladar and core two-way winger Tyson Foerster are crucial to the team's trajectory, don't be mistaken. But they weren't the gamebreakers.
But the Flyers have steadily stayed the course, leaned on the draft, made some shrewd value moves on players who either needed a change of scenery or just a chance to play more – like Vladar and Trevor Zegras – and it all amounted up to a playoff breakthrough this past season, with a largely young core that figures to keep developing for a while.
Leo Carlsson's brand of hockey would fit right in with the Flyers' current core.
All the while, the front office led by Brière and president of hockey ops Keith Jones has kept an ear out and waited.
They were going about their process, and the team was showing signs of getting better, but they probably always knew, too, that they were going to have to do something drastic eventually to push it to the next level, even if they could afford to sit and let that core grow up by themselves for maybe another season.
As time went by, Brière always reiterated publicly the same several points: They had their plan and we're staying patient with it, they were always listening for what was on the market, they weren't going to rush or cut any corners, and when the opportunity did arise to try and land a star, they were going to be aggressive about it
The chance came Friday afternoon, and now a high-flying and highly deceptive No. 1 center in Carlsson, who would go right to the top of a youthful lineup the Flyers have spent the past several years steadily building, is sitting right there for them.
They did their part, offering up a record $18 million a year to try and pry him away from the Ducks.
But now comes what will probably be an agonizing six days for the Flyers and their fans to see if Carlsson is truly theirs.
Granted, what are a few more days anyway, given that the Flyers have already been waiting for this shot for years?
It was always about patience, never passiveness.
SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Follow Nick on Bluesky: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
