Leo Carlsson could be the Flyers’ dream No. 1 center

July 3, 2026, will forever be known as the day that Danny Briere set the NHL on fire.

In an earth-shattering twist that no one saw coming, the Flyers and Ducks restricted free agent Leo Carlsson have agreed on a monstrous five-year offer sheet that would pay the 21-year old centerman somewhere in the neighborhood of $18 million per season, throwing a wrench into the entire offseason, and functionally changing the league for the foreseeable future.

Carlsson is coming off of a breakout season that saw him register 29 goals and 67 points in 70 games in the regular season, followed by an impressive playoff run where he was able to put up 11 points in 12 games throughout Anaheim’s surprising playoff run that saw them beat the Oilers in six before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in round two.

The Swede was taken second overall in the 2023 NHL entry draft, and has been impressing on both ends of the ice since he made his debut as a fresh-faced 19-year old in 2023-24, playing a significant role on the Ducks penalty kill as well as the power play, while averaging over 19 minutes per game, ranking him second amongst Anaheim forwards this season, just a single second less than veteran center Mikael Granlund.

While the price is obviously very steep, with the Flyers set to give up their next four first-round picks as compensation, to go along with a mammoth contract that would likely make Carlsson the highest paid player in NHL history on a yearly basis; this is the exact archetype of player the Flyers have been searching for, whether it be through the draft, free agency, or through trades.

Functionally, Carlsson is already a point-per-game player at 21 years of age, with a maturity and two-way responsibility that is far beyond his years. At bare minimum, he would be the best Flyers centerman since Claude Giroux was playing down the middle, (more on that later…), and if he reaches his true peak, he would undoubtedly be one of the 30 most valuable players in the league.

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While it is a massive swing and could potentially present the Flyers with some cap problems in the short-term, the fact remains that this is the exact player the Flyers have been looking for to potentially play alongside their glut of talented young wingers as they move into a new era of contention. Carlsson will improve every aspect of the team, whether it be special teams, goal-scoring, speed, or playmaking.

The key to power play woes?

While Carlsson\'s power play numbers haven\'t exactly popped yet in terms of raw numbers, there is every indication that he has the skillset and vision to be a player who can transform whatever man advantage unit he plays on. Carlsson averaged 3:27 of power play time per game last season, and while they do have some other very exciting young names, those weren\'t really the players who tended to be alongside him.

Names like Troy Terry, Chris Kreider, and Mikael Granlund all had more power play time-on-ice than young stars like Sennecke, Mason McTavish, and Cutter Gauthier, and until the end of the year when John Calrson joined for the ensuing playoff push, the Ducks were relying on Jackson LaCombe to essentially be a Jack-of-all-trades as their number one defender, power play quarterback, while also contributing on the penalty kill. The mix was never really right, and it showed, as the Ducks were only able to click at 18.6% with the man advantage, good for 23rd in the league during the regular season.

But once everything settled in, and Carlson got used to his new surroundings, the Ducks power play started to click come playoff time, and they were able to flip the script and get red hot in their limited opportunities, ripping off a 31.6% clip in their 12 playoff games. While a lot of that could be attributed to just how bad the Edmonton Oilers were defensively in their first round series, it shows that there was a marked improvement.

Carlsson in particular brings a trait that the Flyers sorely need, and that is the ability to carry the puck into the zone with confidence, and make smart plays in tight that force the defense to scramble.

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The truth is, the Flyers do have shooters. Zegras, Martone, Tyson Foerster, Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny are all willing shooters when they\'re feeling it, and that\'s not including guys like Alex Bump and Matvei Michkov who also possess a similar finishing ability. Carlsson can fire the puck as well, but his vision and poise are such that he should be able to become a half-wall distributor, something the Flyers have been missing since the days of Jakub Voracek and the aformentioned Giroux.

But perhaps the most impressive aspect of Carlsson\'s season was how he was able to transition from regular season play, to the playoffs, without really skipping a beat. 11 points in 12 games, while being the assistant captain, and helping lead his team to a series win over a veteran Oilers team in his first NHL postseason experience is extremely impressive, and that gamer mentality should fit in perfectly with a Flyers team that showed similar grit and drive in their hotly contested matchup against the Penguins. From a culture perspective, there\'s no reason to believe that Carlsson won\'t fit right into the locker room, if he is to end up in Philadelphia.

Carlsson as the first-line center will also allow players like Noah Cates, Sean Couturier, and Christian Dvorak to slide into more manageable roles that more suit their skillsets, along with potentially giving Porter Martone an elite linemate that you can realistically see him playing with for the next decade-plus, if the deal is to go through. He may not be the most highest-profile player on the market as of yet, but his sky-high potential on both ends of the ice makes him a good bet in a world where the cap is seemingly rising year-over-year.

The deal is not without risk, but Briere and Keith Jones must have viewed Carlsson as the missing piece to their project. And if he is able to continue the growth that he has exhibited through his short NHL career thus far, they might be right.

Talking Points