How the Leo Carlsson offer sheet changes everything in the NHL

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed restricted free agent Leo Carlsson to a five-year, $90 million offer sheet, making him the NHL's highest-paid player at $18 million per year, or $21 million when bonuses are included for next season. Elliotte Friedman notes this surpasses Kirill Kaprizov's $17 million per year deal signed 276 days prior and marks only the second time in the cap era that a player in his fourth season holds the league's highest salary, following Mitch Marner's $16 million in 2019-20. The deal is expected to have major ripple effects across the league, particularly for teams managing young stars such as Connor Bedard in Chicago and Adam Fantilli in Columbus.