$18 million too much for Carlsson? Is Larkin stayi...

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5dSean Allen and Victoria MatiashplayGavin McKenna excited to step onto the ice as a Maple Leaf (0:26)Greg WyshynskiJul 7, 2026, 09:30 AM ETCloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN's senior NHL writer.Follow on XMultiple AuthorsEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe champagne hadn't even been mopped up from the Carolina Hurricanes' Stanley Cup celebration when the NHL offseason hit warp speed.It wasn't just the incredible volume of trades, signings and multiple offer sheets.

It was that the NHL, for the first time, had the kind of drama-filled offseason that other sports experience, filled with trade requests, contract squabbles, empowered players voiding deals and all the messy details leaking out about all of it.It's been awesome. Every day, a new debate among fans.

Here are 10 overreactions to the 2026 offseason that we judge to be absolutely reasonable or totally misguided. Enjoy!Read more: Draft tracker Draft grades for all 32 teams Offseason trade grades Free agent signing gradesPat Verbeek should be firedAt the time of this writing, the clock was still sticking on the Philadelphia Flyers' offer sheet on Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson, to the tune of five years and $18 million annually.

If Anaheim matches the offer, its salary cap management is in shambles, leaving the team neither the space to re-sign Cutter Gauthier nor add an impact defenseman to a downgraded group. If Anaheim lets Carlsson walk, it stays out of salary cap hell and gets four first-round picks, which the Ducks could hopefully use to fill a gaping hole at center in a conference where center depth is a necessity.But that's all academic.

The real issue here is that GM Pat Verbeek and vice president of hockey operations Jeff Solomon, who handles negotiations for the team, left the franchise open to being raided by a team like the Flyers.Look at all the teams that signed their potentially vulnerable pending RFAs with months to spare and money saved:Edmonton signed top defenseman Evan Bouchard last June before he could be given an offer sheet, locking him in at $10.5 million AAV.

Montreal signed star defenseman Lane Hutson at an $8.85 million AAV last October.Utah signed center Logan Cooley at a $10 million AAV last October.

Los Angeles signed defenseman Brandt Clarke at a $7.4 million AAV in June.Montreal locked up Ivan Demidov a year before restricted free agency at a $9.

15 million AAV on July 1.And so on.But that's not how the Ducks operate.

They grind. They try to win the war of attrition in talks, which is why Jamie Drysdale, Mason McTavish and Trevor Zegras all missed training camp time during RFA contract talks in seasons past. All three are no longer in Anaheim.

The Ducks also don't like to hand out contracts like the one Carlsson signed, where $83.5 million of his $90 million will be paid out in buyout-proof signing bonuses. The combined signing bonus money on the Drysdale, McTavish and Zegras extensions?

Zero.Anaheim had an exclusive negotiating window with Carlsson for several months, couldn't get anything done and then totally miscalculated how thirsty the market was going to be for a 21-year-old franchise center, given the rise of the salary cap and the lackluster unrestricted free agent crop. In January, Verbeek told Victory+ that the team "tabled" its talks with Carlsson and other RFAs.

"We want their focus to be on the playoffs," he said.Hope this was worth that second-round playoff exit.But the real kick in the pants here for Ducks fans is that Carlsson expressed a willingness to get something done last summer, and at a significantly lower price than what Anaheim or Philadelphia is going to pay.

During a player-on-player interview with Elias Pettersson on Daily Faceoff, he said "I'd take that, for sure" when asked about an eight-year deal with