Step one is done.Steps two, three and more … that is still for Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek to work out. Verbeek’s path to sorting out the team’s financial predicament as he attempts to maintain a contending team began Sunday with a five-year extension for 22-year-old defenseman Pavel Mintyukov.Leo Carlsson’s signing of the Philadelphia Flyers’ brazen $90 million offer sheet threw Anaheim’s salary structure out of its carefully controlled environment, and the effect of that won’t just be felt in the Ducks front office. It could impact Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, Adam Fantilli and the Columbus Blue Jackets and every other young forward who puts up numbers under their entry-level contracts and is bound to become a restricted free agent.That could include San Jose Sharks star Macklin Celebrini next summer, though it should have Sharks GM Mike Grier focused on getting a massive Celebrini extension done this offseason. It could, ironically, impact Trevor Zegras, as the Flyers still need to sign the former Anaheim forward who filed for salary arbitration Sunday.As for the Ducks, it could affect Cutter Gauthier, the third major RFA they’re in talks with as they attempt to sort out their financial situation. They have until Friday to match Carlsson’s offer sheet or let him leave. Mintyukov’s average annual value of $7.2 million was no doubt influenced by Philadelphia’s audacious move and reinforces the bind that Anaheim is in.PuckPedia now estimates the Ducks have less than $10 million remaining under the $103 million cap for 2026-27 to sign Gauthier. And that won’t work, given that Gauthier, 22, is coming off a 41-goal season in just his second full year in the NHL. The league has a rising salary cap, and Anaheim won’t get Gauthier in under an eight-figure AAV amount, as Buffalo did with Tage Thompson, Montreal did with Cole Caufield or Detroit with Alex DeBrincat years ago.Verbeek could play hardball in talks to extend Gauthier, given that the winger wasn’t eligible to get an offer sheet and doesn’t have arbitration rights. But how has that strategy worked out in the past? Maybe Verbeek was never convinced that Zegras or Jamie Drysdale — or even Mason McTavish — would be the franchise bedrocks for the Ducks when they were in position to level up and contend for a Stanley Cup. Maybe it was because those former top-10 picks came before Verbeek took charge. But Carlsson was the player Verbeek viewed as the one he could build around, and Gauthier was the pure finisher he traded for when Gauthier wanted out of Philadelphia. These two are his guys, so to speak.Mintyukov is another one of his guys, as the Ducks’ first draft selection in the Verbeek era. There remains a belief in what the young defenseman can mature into as the years go by, which could be why Verbeek didn’t act on the reported trade requests when the blueliner was scratched early last season and didn’t deal him in the cap crunch the Carlsson contract now has him in.This might all have been avoided if Verbeek had hammered out at least one deal a year ago when he was first able to — logically, Carlsson as the one to set the salary structure — rather than stuck to the mindset of not negotiating with his RFAs during the season. Limiting distractions while the Ducks were intent on ending their seven-year postseason drought was noble, but it’s not helping them now.There was a lack of foresight about the earning potential of the homegrown players the Ducks cultivated in an exploding cap environment, and they didn’t seem to anticipate multiple teams driving the prices up on Carlsson and Mintyukov beyond their comfort level. Offer sheets are no longer taboo among GMs. Verbeek now has cost certainty with Mintyukov, but the $7.2 million cap number combined with the potential $18 million Carlsson hit is restrictive.What is that next step out of the predicament?1) Matching to keep Carlsson would allow Anaheim to retain its No. 1 center in five years of his ascent and prime. The Ducks would have the game’s highest-paid player, and while they didn’t intend on Carlsson becoming that, they also know he may not wear that title for very long if the next contracts for Celebrini, Connor McDavid or Cale Makar eclipse $18 million AAV. If he becomes an elite pivot and an all-star-level player and leader, that sticker shock will lessen over time.However, a deal with Gauthier would almost certainly require the Ducks to move salary. Frank Vatrano, who was injured and scratched often last season, would be the most likely, but moving his $4.57 million cap hit for the coming season and the following (along with his deferred money in salary) is easier said than done. It doesn’t seem likely the Ducks would trade Chris Kreider ($6.5 million) or Alex Killorn ($6.25 million), and both veterans have 15-team no-trade clauses. Already, A.J. Greer’s $4.25 million AAV is looking problematic.2) The Ducks could choose to not match the Carlsson contract and take the four first-round picks from the Flyers. It would give them an extra first-round selection each year from 2027 to 2030. It’s possible that pick won’t be particularly high in 2027, but the Ducks also possess three second-round choices. That’s still a solid amount of asset capital that can be used in a trade package.However, the options of finding a 1C replacement are extremely limited. Dylan Larkin might be the best at this time, and an $8.7 million AAV — set over the next five seasons — would fit nicely if Anaheim has $27 million available. Larkin, 29, has already hit his ceiling, though, and Carlsson’s could be much higher. Another possibility could be the New York Islanders’ Mat Barzal, who has a manageable $9.15 million cap number through 2030-31.Navigating this dilemma will be a tricky one for Verbeek, if not the defining one of his tenure.Jul 6, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms