- Danny Briere released a statement Friday after the Ducks matched Philadelphia’s offer sheet for Leo Carlsson
- The five-year, $90 million offer would have cost the Flyers four first-round picks
- Read below for the full statement, the video, and what Philadelphia does with the cap space
Danny Briere isn’t apologizing for the swing.
The Flyers general manager put out a statement Friday, a day after Anaheim matched Philadelphia’s five-year, $90 million offer sheet for Leo Carlsson. Briere was addressing the failed bid for the first time publicly.
“We understood this outcome was possible when we made the offer,” Briere said in a statement released by the team. “While the result isn’t what we hoped for, our goal does not change — we remain committed to pursuing every opportunity that will strengthen our team and continue to build towards becoming a consistent and perennial contender without sacrificing our future.”
Here’s the statement the Flyers posted Friday morning:
Anaheim never really wavered. General manager Pat Verbeek said the Ducks had viewed Carlsson as a franchise player since before the 2023 draft, and that matching any offer sheet was always the plan.
The Ducks made it official Thursday:
Philadelphia went big on July 3. The $18 million average annual value made Carlsson the highest-paid player in the league, and the Ducks matching it means Briere keeps the four first-round picks that would have gone to Anaheim as compensation.
Carlsson went second overall in 2023 and put up 29 goals and 67 points in 70 games last season. He added 11 points in 12 playoff games. The 21-year-old is a legitimate first-line center, which is exactly the hole Philadelphia has been trying to fill for a decade.
So the Flyers keep their picks and a pile of cap room. Some of that goes to restricted free agents, with Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale already filing for arbitration. The rest can sit until next summer or turn into a trade during the season.
Briere was asked about the rebuild timeline at his free agency press conference on July 1, before the offer sheet ever went out.
“It’s a fine line. We’ve preached patience from the start of this, like three years ago,” Briere said. “And that’s the fine line that we’re trying to stay on where we’re giving our young guys the chance to get better.”
Watch Briere lay out that thinking:
Carlsson stays in Anaheim at $18 million a year. Briere still has four first-round picks to spend.
