21-Year-Old Is Highest-Paid Player in the NHL

A 21-year-old Swedish player just leapfrogged the NHL salary heap. Leo Carlsson is staying with the Anaheim Ducks after the team matched the Philadelphia Flyers' audacious five-year, $90 million offer. The $18 million average annual value tops Kirill Kaprizov's previous league high of $17 million, reports ESPN. "I always wanted to be a Duck," Carlsson said, calling the pressure that comes with the deal "a special feeling." General manager Pat Verbeek admitted he "did not see" Philadelphia going that high for such a young player, and in matching the offer, he had to "blow up his team's salary structure," per the Athletic.

The contract is heavily front-loaded and bonus-driven: Carlsson will collect nearly $20 million in the first year, with about $85 million of the total coming as signing bonuses. Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli called the decision "easy," saying they expect Carlsson—who posted 29 goals and 67 points in 70 games and led Anaheim to its first playoff berth since 2018—to grow into a premier NHL center.