The Maple Leafs have a chance to get aggressive as offer sheets start flying

With Leo Carlsson signing a $90-million offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers, it opens the door for the Maple Leafs to get aggressive and steal another Ducks RFA.

Friday was a relatively quiet day in the NHL until Leo Carlsson and the Philadelphia Flyers blew it up. Philadelphia presented the RFA with a five-year, $90-million contract that the Anaheim Ducks have only a week to match otherwise he's headed to the City of Brotherly Love with several extra zeroes in his bank account.

While there's a good chance that the Ducks end up matching it, doing so would handicap the team from being able to sign some of the other RFA's who are in need of a deal like Cutter Gauthier and Pavel Mintyukov.

Both men are not going to come cheap, and while they may not get the same amount as Carlsson, they are going to get a hefty increase nonetheless.

Toronto should offer Mintyukov an offer sheet...but they can only pay so much

The Maple Leafs have the chance to put out an offer sheet of their own, and they should at least put out one for Mintyukov given that he offers a lot of upside and exactly what Toronto needs.

Mintyukov, 22, had 22 points in 73 games with the Ducks last year, and has 69 points in 204 career games; not too shabby for a guy who has only averaged a shade over 18 minutes a game. He's also a physical player with solid defensive metrics and a knack for blocking shots and uses all of his 6-foot-1, 207 pound frame to disrupt opponents.

He would instantly slot into Toronto's defence and would likely take over asa third pairing player though depending on what the team does with Morgan Rielly, they could slot him into the top-four alongside Chris Tanev, not to mention be a great building block to have alongside Gavin McKenna, Ben Danford, and Easton Cowan.

However therein lies the rub. They can offer Mintyukov a maximum of $4,775,666 per season in an offer sheet due to compensation rules, and while that is certainly an increase over his previous $918,333 contract, with Carlsson getting nearly $20-million a season, it might be a hard sell.

Toronto's offer sheet amount pales in comparison to what other teams can offer including some Cup contenders

Not only that, but teams are already gauging interest in Mintyukov, and while none have been named, if they do want to go for broke and sign him to a mega-deal, there are a few who can.

Starting at $7.3-million, you have Chicago, Carolina, Calagry, New York (Islanders), Ottawa, Philadelphia and Seattle. Compensation for that is a first, second and third round pick. Once you reach $9.55-million, it becomes two firsts, a second and third (same teams).

But when you get into the $12-million and above range is where things get interesting. It's four first round picks starting in 2027, and suddenly that list expands to include 14 other teams who can afford to sign Mintyukov at that price including powerhouses like Vegas, Minnesota, Buffalo, and Tampa Bay.

Suddenly that $4.775-million a year deal looks like peanuts compared to what some teams can offer. Though granted, they also need to find the money to do but teams like Philadelphia (obviously) as well as Chicago, Calgary, Columbus, Vancouver and Carolina can all fit in a huge deal under their current cap situation so it's a lot easier for them.

Adding Mintyukov would be great, and perhaps John Chayka can end up making another trade to acquire his rights and find a deal there, but either way - if he wants him, he's going to have to pay through the nose to get him.

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