Offer-Sheet Shock Forces Ducks Decision, While Sabres Bolster Goalie Depth

The NHL’s offseason power balance shifted again on Friday with a high-stakes restricted free-agent move that could ripple through multiple teams. Philadelphia reportedly signed Anaheim center Leo Carlsson to a five-year offer sheet valued at $90 million, a deal that would make him the highest-paid player in the league if the Ducks do not match. Carlsson, 21, was selected second overall in 2023 and, according to the report, scored a career-high 29 goals in his third NHL season.

In this type of mechanism, the receiving club is given a limited window to match the offer, and the calendar quickly becomes part of the roster calculus. Philadelphia’s reported intent carries draft-pick leverage as well, with compensation described as four first-round selections if Anaheim chooses not to match by July 10. That deadline matters for Anaheim not only in the immediate sense of keeping Carlsson, but also in how much cap space remains to retain other young core players and maintain lineup stability.

The Ducks’ internal constraint, as framed in the report, is the cap math that follows any decision to match. The report notes Anaheim held back in free agency to sign its other restricted free agents earlier in the summer, and it also references a July 1 “not dipping into free agency” posture, along with the prior clearing of space through a trade involving defenseman Olen Zellweger. The upshot, per the report, is that Anaheim could be left with only $17 million in cap space to re-sign winger Cutter Gauthier if it matches Carlsson, while also facing work to address a short-handed defensive corps.

Meanwhile, Buffalo’s response to its own offseason uncertainty has come through goalie depth rather than blockbuster forward moves. The Sabres reportedly added a veteran minor-league netminder named Villalta to help shore up the organization’s goaltending options after the team traded Devon Levi to Edmonton. The underlying theme for Buffalo is that losing a primary asset in a deal can expose a system if younger options are not ready or if the crease depth lacks experience, so adding a proven backstop at the minor-league level is a practical counterbalance.

Buffalo’s broader roster approach, at least as described in the report, reflects a willingness to stay ahead of restricted free-agent deadlines. The article points to general proactive management on the restricted free-agent front, citing Buffalo’s reported seven-year, $52.5 million extension for winger Zach Benson ahead of his eligibility for offer sheets. In the modern NHL, that kind of front-loading can reduce both negotiation friction and the chance that a competing club turns its attention to a specific player at the last moment.

Taken together, these moves illustrate two different offseason pressures. For Anaheim and Philadelphia, the Carlsson offer sheet makes July a deadline-driven roster event where matching, not just talent, becomes the central question. For Buffalo, the goaltending addition suggests the Sabres want operational stability after a significant trade, even while the wider league’s salary-cap and RFA chessboard continues to shift.

What to watch next is straightforward but consequential. Anaheim’s decision on whether to match Carlsson will determine not only the Ducks’ top-line center plans, but also the compensation draft-pick swing that Philadelphia would gain if it goes unmatched. For Buffalo, the organization’s next checkpoint is how Villalta fits into the depth picture behind its primary goalie plans, and whether the Sabres need further insurance moves as training-camp preparation tightens around the start of the season.