NHL hockey players: They’re just like us!Philadelphia Flyers forward Tyson Foerster took part in a media conference call on Monday, primarily to discuss the eight-year contract extension he signed last week. He was inevitably asked, though, about the bombshell offer sheet that Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson signed with the Flyers on Friday.“I’m kind of in the same boat as you guys,” Foerster said. “We’re excited, but we’re just waiting to see what happens.”The wait, as of Wednesday morning, continues. According to one Flyers team source speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations, the Flyers don’t expect an answer until closer to Friday’s deadline.Where might it all go? Flyers writer Kevin Kurz and Ducks writer Eric Stephens convened (digitally) to discuss.The Ducks MUST match the Flyers’ offer sheetCorey Pronman, Scott Wheeler and moreKevin Kurz: Well Eric, we’ve been here before a few times in recent years. We went back and forth on a potential Trevor Zegras trade (more than a year before it actually went down) and, more than once, we’ve discussed the repercussions of the Cutter Gauthier-Jamie Drysdale deal, too.And now this. Obviously, we haven’t seen Pat Verbeek or the organization announce yet that they’re going to match the five-year, $90 million offer sheet Carlsson has signed with the Flyers. What do you think they’re discussing behind closed doors, and why do you think they seem primed to drag this thing out?Eric Stephens: I guess, Kevin, we have Verbeek and Daniel Brière to thank for providing us with fascinating material to chew on in these last few years. Nothing may be more so than this audacious maneuver by Brière that I believe is giving the Ducks real pause as to the decision whether to match or let Carlsson go to the Flyers and take the return of four first-round picks.Verbeek is at the controls in this monstrous choice for the franchise, but you can bet that Ducks owner Henry Samueli — typically one to let his decision-makers do their job without interference on his part — is being consulted on the best path to take. It is his money after all, but he’s also got plenty of it. (As of 2026, Samueli is one of the 10 richest people in California with an estimated net worth of $30.6 billion.)A real question that the Ducks are now pondering is whether matching the $18 million AAV to keep Carlsson as their No. 1 center makes it even possible to build a Stanley Cup contender when they could have four players commanding the bulk of their cap once Beckett Sennecke finishes his entry-level deal. The Ducks have Jackson LaCombe locked in at $9 million AAV, but Cutter Gauthier will likely be much more and Sennecke could ask for serious money if he blows up as a playmaking sniper. Is it outrageous to think that the Ducks could ultimately have $54-55 million AAV tied up in four skaters?I’ve got a related question for you, Kevin. Even with the percentage moving downward as the cap continues to rise, do the Flyers think they can ice an elite team and top Cup contender around Carlsson with his number currently eating 17.4 percent?Kurz: Not right away. There would still be a realization here that the Flyers are a very young team that is probably a couple years away from that.But if Carlsson joins, the path to becoming one is in view. The Flyers have several promising wingers either locked up or under team control for the foreseeable future in Porter Martone, Tyson Foerster and Matvei Michkov, who all have the potential to take steps forward — perhaps big ones. There is veteran support up front in the form of Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett, who should be good for at least 25-30 goals apiece. Christian Dvorak and Noah Cates are solid middle-six centers coming off career years, and Zegras did some nice things in the middle after Rick Tocchet moved him there in March. Alex Bump and Denver Barkey are promising prospects that already earned some NHL experience last season.Defensively, the Flyers are already pretty strong. They were ninth in the NHL in goals-against last season (2.91), thanks in large part to Dan Vladař, who was named as Team MVP and is now locked up long-term himself.Further, what would make Carlsson’s inflated salary more palatable in Philadelphia is that Briere has managed to keep salaries down for other key players. Tippett, Konecny, Foerster, Dvorak, Cates, Travis Sanheim and Cam York are all arguably under market value, and although both Zegras and Jamie Drysdale have yet to sign their contract extensions as restricted free agents, the Flyers should still be able to comfortably operate from a salary cap perspective, even if adding Carlsson would force them to shed some salary (with Rasmus Ristolainen or Nick Seeler the most likely candidates to get moved).Briere’s most difficult task with this roster was always going to be finding a top-line center, as he, Keith Jones and Dan Hilferty decided as a group three years ago that they weren’t going to engage in a full teardown. They’ve been planning for this type of scenario for years. Originally, it was with the 2026 free agent class in mind. After that dried up, this became the pivot.Something I’m wondering — if the Ducks actually do let Carlsson walk this way, can you envision a scenario in which they use those four first-round picks as trade bait for another center? Elias Pettersson, perhaps, or maybe Dylan Larkin?Stephens: I couldn’t see it for Pettersson. There is value in trying to resuscitate a former All-Star who is still just 27 and might respond in a better situation than Vancouver’s with more talent around him, but not at the cost of multiple first-round picks spent. I’m not even sure he’s worth one first-rounder at this point, and the Canucks would have to retain some portion (likely a sizable portion) of his $11 million cap hit.But to put some of that draft capital in play for Larkin? Definitely, when you consider Anaheim is supposed to be exiting its rebuild stage. The Ducks don’t want to take a step back. Larkin will never be what Carlsson might become, but he’s a good player. Verbeek knows him from his days assisting Steve Yzerman in Detroit. If Larkin is bent on having his trade request from the Red Wings fulfilled, the Ducks no longer have Mason McTavish as trade bait but still have enough assets to put together an enticing package.What makes it tough to acquire Larkin is 1) he’s indicated preferred spots he would accept a trade to and Anaheim isn’t one of them, 2) Yzerman has shown that he won’t be bullied into a deal before he’s ready to execute it and 3) without McTavish, Verbeek would likely have to include top prospect Roger McQueen. Now, the 6-foot-5 McQueen has 1C size — there’s a reason he’s drawn Ryan Getzlaf comparisons — but there is a question as to that kind of skill and production upside.All things considered, the Ducks would obviously love Carlsson and McQueen to be their top two centers into the future. But if they don’t match, there is a huge hole to fill now as McQueen ideally needs another year of seasoning in the American Hockey League. The options for a Carlsson replacement just aren’t there. Maybe another presents itself in time, but they would need to subtract from their roster to bring in a high-impact pivot.I’ve got a final line of inquiry for you, Kevin. Clearly, the Flyers are comfortable with relinquishing first-round picks in their next four drafts as there is more value in having a true 1C in Carlsson. But with the Ducks shifting into a win-now mode, is there any path toward Anaheim getting a roster player now if the Flyers want any of those first-rounders back? (The Ducks also have three second-round picks in 2027).And what do you think this whole experience does to the working relationship between Verbeek and Brière? Can these two still do business together in the future?Kurz: Regarding your first question, my instinct is that they would be open to a trade if that’s what it took to push this over the line. (To be clear, the Flyers and Ducks can’t make a trade specifically designed to dissuade the Ducks from not matching, but the Ducks could agree to trade one or more of the first-round picks back to the Flyers for assets.)If the Ducks insist on getting a center back in the deal, the most likely candidate for the Flyers to dangle would be Cates, who has become an effective depth pivot and posted a career-high 47 points in 82 games last season. Cates certainly wouldn’t replace Carlsson in the Ducks’ lineup, but he’s a solid two-way player who has started to develop into an off-ice leader in the Flyers’ dressing room, too.If it’s someone more impactful, perhaps the Flyers would be open to dealing Tippett, who took his game to another level late last season and is one of the fastest players in the league. Tippett should be a guy that scores 30 goals annually, and he’s signed for a very manageable $6.2 million AAV through 2031-32. That said, his 10-team limited no-trade clause kicked in on July 1, and we don’t know if Anaheim is on that list or not.I know some people are curious about Michkov here, but I don’t see that happening. Briere has said many times the winger isn’t going anywhere, and Michkov’s value isn’t all that high at the moment anyway after a step backwards in his sophomore campaign.What I can’t envision is the Flyers dealing multiple NHL players away from what they view as their solid young core. If the Ducks were willing to take a prospect or two back, though, perhaps the Flyers would part with one of their centers in the system like Jett Luchanko, Jack Nesbitt or Jack Berglund. No, none of those guys has the ceiling of a guy like Carlsson, but all are potential No. 2 centers if they reach their ceilings. Barkey, too, could be a guy that might appeal to them, as he already looks like a steal of a third-round pick in 2023.As for the Brière-Verbeek relationship … that is going to be one of the more fascinating aspects of this whole thing. Are NHL general managers — Verbeek or otherwise — going to be reluctant to do business with Brière now, because of the grenade he’s thrown into the league’s salary structure?Shortly after this news broke, I thought back to something Jones told me way back in September of 2023 — that when the Flyers make trades, they want it to be “good for both teams” so those teams are willing to work with the Flyers in the future.“When we make a trade, we want to make another trade with that team somewhere down the road,” Jones said then. “We’re not looking to pound somebody into the ground. We want to put deep thought into it. We want both organizations to come away from it (thinking) all right, there’s a team we can trust.”This isn’t a trade in the traditional sense, but I do wonder how Brière is going to be perceived around the league now by his peers. If the Flyers do land Carlsson, well, it’s worth that risk. But if the Ducks match, how might it affect Brière when he inevitably searches for upgrades to his roster elsewhere?