{"id":613963,"date":"2026-07-03T21:54:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T21:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/613963\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T21:54:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T21:54:20","slug":"shock-carlsson-signs-massive-offer-sheet-how-are-sharks-affected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/613963\/","title":{"rendered":"SHOCK: Carlsson Signs Massive Offer Sheet; How Are Sharks Affected?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wow. Leo Carlsson<\/a> of the Anaheim Ducks<\/a> just signed a massive offer sheet<\/a> that will change the landscape of the NHL and the San Jose Sharks.<\/p>\n

The Ducks now have seven days to match the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a>\u2018 offer to Carlsson. If they don\u2019t, the Flyers send their next four first-round picks as compensation. Reports on Thursday said the Ducks would match any offer.<\/p>\n

We have tendered an offer sheet to Anaheim center Leo Carlsson. The offer is a five-year contract worth an average annual value (AAV) of $18M, which would require four of the Flyers first-round draft picks in each of the next four seasons as compensation. https:\/\/t.co\/nfhD4h6nEc<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) July 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Offer sheets in any sport (like the NBA) with a contract structure like the NHL are rare. But when they happen, they can alter franchises. Carlsson is a great player, there\u2019s no question about it. In 70 games last season, the Ducks center had 67 points (29 goals, 38 assists).<\/p>\n

News like this won\u2019t directly affect the San Jose Sharks this season, but it could in the future. Will Smith<\/a> and Macklin Celebrini<\/a> are due extensions after the 26-27 season. Carlsson\u2019s expected extension was nowhere near $18 million per season. If it were at $12 million AAV, that could\u2019ve set the market for top-end players like Connor Bedard<\/a> and Smith.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc40Per my conversations earlier in the week with sources, the @AnaheimDucks<\/a> were hoping to be between 10M-12M AAV for Carlsson & Gauthier, knowing Sennecke will be next in line, the @NHLFlyers<\/a> have now come off the top rope. This also impacts Bedard & Celebrini. #HockeyX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) July 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Smith is a winger now, and while he likely won\u2019t be as good as Carlsson or Bedard in the long run, his asking price just got a whole lot higher. GM Mike Grier<\/a> told reporters on Thursday that he ran the numbers and was comfortable with all the upcoming cap space to sign Smith, Celebrini, Collin Graf<\/a>, Michael Misa<\/a>, and more. Looking at the contract Jacob Trouba<\/a> signed and the one they absorbed for Darnell Nurse<\/a>, there might be some buyer\u2019s remorse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done our work on the numbers,\u201d Grier said. \u201cIt\u2019s just making sure when those extensions kick in that we still maintain some flexibility to improve the group and add players. With the (NHL salary cap) going up, and we\u2019ll still have some younger guys on cheaper contracts, we\u2019ll be able to maneuver over these next three or four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

So while Smith won\u2019t make as much as Carlsson, especially now, the huge deal that Carlsson signed just made him more expensive, probably. <\/p>\n

Turning to Celebrini\u2019s next San Jose Sharks contract, that\u2019s where fear comes in. Celebrini is better than Carlsson. That isn\u2019t a question. 115 points in 82 games, Olympic silver medalist, future captain, and the stamp of approval from elite NHL superstars today.<\/p>\n

By nature, Celebrini deserves to be amongst the highest-paid players in the NHL. Before this contract, Minnesota Wild<\/a> forward Kirill Kaprizov<\/a> was set to be the highest-paid player. His extension kicks in this summer with an AAV of $17 million. Carlsson now beats that. Neither of those players is Celebrini.<\/p>\n

The Sharks\u2019 best hope and outcome is that Celebrini takes the Sidney Crosby<\/a> route. Crosby, who is Celerbini\u2019s idol, has taken massive contract discounts to stay with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although Celebrini will make more than Sid\u2019s iconic $8.7 million AAV, he could come closer to Connor McDavid\u2019s<\/a> $12.5 million. Both Crosby and McDavid are underpaid, but they want their team to have flexibility.<\/p>\n

If Celebrini takes a discount, by however much less than Carlsson, that is a win for the Sharks. No player on the Sharks will make more than Celebrini, given his status on the team, which could help keep costs down for Smith and the rest of the future RFAs.<\/p>\n

And after all that is said here, the NHL might have yet another offer sheet incoming.<\/p>\n

There are rumblings this may not be the only offer sheet of the day in the NHL \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wow. Leo Carlsson of the Anaheim Ducks just signed a massive offer sheet that will change the landscape…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5127],"tags":[233,5,3040,501,747,4,7174,56,7173,519,168,5306,5305,1780,24660,507],"class_list":["post-613963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose-sharks","tag-anaheim-ducks","tag-hockey","tag-leo-carlsson","tag-macklin-celebrini","tag-mike-grier","tag-nhl","tag-offer-sheet","tag-philadelphia-flyers","tag-restricted-free-agent","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-sanjose","tag-sanjosesharks","tag-sharks","tag-sj-sharks","tag-will-smith"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116858274702533383","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}