Philadelphia just turned the NHL on its head by paying Leo Carlsson $39M in a year

Leo Carlsson was offered a front-loaded $90-million contract by Philadelphia via offer sheet, and in the first year is expected to make an absurd $39-million.

In a stunning bit of news of Friday afternoon, the Philadelphia Flyers decided to choose to do the unthinkable (metaphorically) and put out an offer sheet for Anaheim's Leo Carlsson. It wasn't the offer sheet itself that was unthinkable, but the deal as a whole.

It's unthinkable to see teams offer anything more than a few million dollars for the chance to sign a player away, and the risk of losing a ton of draft capital weighs heavy on many.

Philadelphia trying to call Anaheim's bluff by offering a $90-million deal for Leo Carlsson

But not Philly, as they offered an absurd five-year, $90-million offer sheet to Anaheim for Carlsson and for context; that's $18-million per year.

It's money that you do not really see in the NHL, and unless you're one of the absolute elite players then it's unlikely you'll ever see that number. But Philadelphia is trying to do more than just bring Carlsson aboard - they are trying to completely flip the NHL on its head.

Philadelphia offering that level of money for a young up-and-comer is going to set a precedent for teams and young players that could have ramifications for years to come.

What's going to stop other teams from banking on a young star and stealing them away? There's guys like Connor Bedard who could be offered a boatload of money to leave town, and if one goes then it's very likely that others will soon follow.

But also what if Anaheim matches? That too will set a precedent that teams may follow, which could also prevent their star players from going elsewhere regardless of their success. If Bedard is offered $20-million a year and Chicago matches, then how long will it take for them to compete knowing they're handcuffed into such a huge unmovable deal?

Reports surface that show Carlsson will earn nearly $40-million within the first year

Also of note, Elliotte Friedman reports that the information he was given regarding the offer sheet from Philadelphia is that they are front-loading it heavily, and Carlsson is expected to make - no joke - $39-million in his first year:

Key details from what I understand on Leo Carlsson offer-sheet:

Front-loaded and bonus structure, as we'd all expect

In the next 12 months, he will earn approximately $39M

Also according to Friedman, $95-million of his deal will come with bonuses:

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For context, the entire Blackhawks forward corp (minus Bedard) is making $38.6-million combined so you can see how absurd that number really is when you compare it to an entire forward group.

Right now, Anaheim has a week to match the offer, but still also need to sign Cutter Gauthier to a new deal as well and have two key RFA defenders in Pavel Mintyukov and Tyson Hinds who also need new contracts.

So whether or not they decide to pay the price for Carlsson remains to be seen, but the Flyers are showing that having a lot of cap space can be a way to almost bully your way into a superstar and the Ducks may have no choice but to let Carlsson go.

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