Leo Carlsson opened up on the Flyers' offer sheet this week, and the Ducks forward now heads straight into Philadelphia on Saturday.
Speaking to Kevin Kurz, he called the Flyers a “storied franchise.” Then he got to the real reason: “It was more the offer they had.”
“It was a lot of things going through my head,” he said. That's a 21-year-old admitting the decision was anything but simple.
Then came the line Ducks fans will read twice. “It was more just that it was an offer that I couldn't say no to.”
He followed it with something closer to gratitude. “Even though I'm grateful that they thought of me as that player.”
Read that again. Carlsson put the offer ahead of the logo, and he didn't bother dressing it up.
He's still a Duck, though. His $18,000,000 cap hit is the highest in the league.
Ducks bring a five-game skid into Philadelphia on Saturday
The timing is ugly. The Ducks dropped a 4-1 decision in New Jersey on Thursday, their fifth straight loss.
Carlsson was held off the scoresheet there and went minus-2 in 19:13 of ice time.
He still leads Anaheim with 11 points, and six of those are power-play assists. The special teams work is real.
But a -5 rating on a 4-6-0 team says the even-strength game hasn't followed.
Walking into that building Saturday is like visiting the house you almost bought. Everybody inside knows exactly what you were worth to them.
The Flyers have their own problems at 3-6-3. They're scoring just 1.7 goals per game.
Still, Rick Tocchet's group has won three straight. And it gets a Ducks team at home that can't buy a win right now.
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Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras each have six points over their last five games. That's the kind of push Anaheim hasn't been able to match.
Carlsson's honesty is refreshing, and nobody should hold it against him. The problem is that Joel Quenneville needs his play to say more than his quotes.
The Flyers won't forget they wanted him. Saturday's matinee will show whether he makes them regret missing out, or makes them believe they had the right idea all along.
Should Ducks fans be upset that Leo Carlsson called the Flyers' offer one he couldn't say no to?
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