For six days in July, Danny Briere held the league hostage. On July 3, the Flyers tendered Leo Carlsson a five-year, $90 million offer sheet whose $18 million cap hit edged past Kirill Kaprizov’s $17 million as the richest in NHL history, with roughly $85 million arriving in front-loaded, buyout-proof signing bonuses. Decline, and Anaheim would collect four first-round picks for its franchise center.
Leo Carlsson remains in Anaheim
Pat Verbeek never blinked. “Leo is viewed as a top player in this league, and it was always our intention to match any offer sheet,” the Ducks GM said when Anaheim matched on July 9.
Carlsson sounded relieved: “I always wanted to be a Duck.” Briere answered a day later. “We understood this outcome was possible when we made the offer,” he said. “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.”
For the first time in a long time, the Flyers head into a new season with genuine expectations. Last season, the team reached the playoffs for the first time in six seasons, and online betting sites expect them to be in contention to make it back-to-back postseasons in 2026-27. The latest odds from Sportaza online sportsbook currently list Philly as a +120 shot to make the playoffs this term, and those odds will surely shorten should that marquee center be found.
So far this offseason, the Flyers kept their picks, their cap room, and a young roster that won a playoff series a year ahead of schedule. What they didn’t get was the priority Briere named in June — “We’d like to have a No. 1 center.” So, could one of these three be that guy?
Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
On paper, nobody fits better. Dylan Larkin is 30, an Olympic gold medalist coming off a career-high 34 goals and 67 points in 74 games, second only to Alex DeBrincat in Detroit’s goal column. He’s also just watched the Red Wings miss the playoffs for a 10th straight season.
His trade request went public June 4; Steve Yzerman left the GM chair in July, and interim GM Shawn Horcoff now runs hockey operations. Is there a cleaner illustration of how quickly a captaincy can unravel than Detroit stripping the C on September 11 and opening camp without one? “I asked for a trade from the Detroit Red Wings as the captain, and actions have consequences,” Larkin said, before missing the opening week of camp with a gym injury. He only rejoined practice on September 23, and not on a regular line.
Philadelphia has already called and, per The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz, was told it wasn’t on his list, though Broad Street Hockey argues that door could reopen. His $8.7 million cap hit runs through 2030-31 and fits inside the Flyers’ $13 million-plus of space, but Detroit would surely want a young roster player or premium prospect, a first-rounder, and more; Rasmus Ristolainen, whom the Wings have liked before, could help bridge it.
He’d slot straight in as the No. 1 center, letting Trevor Zegras and Christian Dvorak settle into more natural roles. But Larkin holds the veto.
Adam Fantilli, Columbus Blue Jackets
This is exactly the kind of player general managers build around. The third overall pick in 2023 and a Hobey Baker winner at Michigan, Fantilli is 21, Columbus’s unquestioned No. 1 center, and fresh off 24 goals plus career highs of 35 assists and 59 points in all 82 games. He’s also not in camp.
Pierre LeBrun has reported the sides sit $2 million to $3 million apart, with Columbus reportedly around $12 million, and Don Waddell has acknowledged the Carlsson offer sheet changed his own math. Rick Bowness said it was clear his center is “disappointed” to be away; Waddell, as recently as this week, still expects a contract “in the near future.”
Yet the Philadelphia link was always thin. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline floated it in July, noting how awkward it would be with Briere’s son, Cam, working as Columbus’s video coach. Kurz then reported another offer sheet was unlikely, and Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco was blunter: “They aren’t offer-sheeting Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli.” Waddell, meanwhile, kept enough cap space open to match.
Can an offer sheet really work when Columbus has priced itself within a few million dollars of anything Philadelphia could offer? In theory, a 21-year-old center would grow alongside Porter Martone and Matvei Michkov. In practice, the cost and the politics kill it.
Shane Wright, Seattle Kraken
Few prospects have drifted further from their projection. Shane Wright, 22, was once the presumed first overall pick in 2022 before Seattle took him fourth. A promising 44-point 2024-25 season gave way to 12 goals and 27 points last term under new coach Lane Lambert, largely in a checking role.
In July, his agent, Kurt Overhardt, said GM Jason Botterill had agreed to move him “to a team in need of a top young center,” though no formal trade request was ever filed. Seattle reportedly preferred to package him for a top-tier forward, Pittsburgh kicked the tires, and by September, Overhardt was calling his client “fully committed to the Kraken.” Lambert, for his part, insists Wright became a better 200-foot player, even as the points dried up.
Philadelphia’s connection rests on David Pagnotta’s pre-draft report that the Flyers had “entered the chat” and unconfirmed speculation since, including from NHLTradeRumor.com. Wright is in the final year of his entry-level deal, so the cap hit barely registers, and the price would likely be picks, a prospect, or one of the Flyers’ surplus wingers.
The problem is fit. He’d compete for middle-six minutes with Noah Cates, Dvorak, and Jett Luchanko. That isn’t the No. 1 center Briere described.
