So, what now?The Philadelphia Flyers and general manager Daniel Briere took about as big a swing as could be conceived, only to see the astronomical five-year, $90 million offer sheet signed by Leo Carlsson matched by the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.This was always the likeliest result. The Ducks had to find a way to keep the No. 2 pick of the 2023 draft in the fold, even if he’s now making several million dollars more than they were planning on, as the 21-year-old Carlsson now assumes the title of highest-paid player in the league.But it still stings if you’re the Flyers, or a fan. Carlsson is not only the kind of No. 1 center that the Flyers will need to find at some point, but with him, the path to eventually becoming a legitimate contender would have been a feasible one — perhaps within a year or two, considering how well Briere has set the table in other areas, including finding a goaltender in Dan Vladar and keeping salaries in check for other key players on long-term deals.NHL offer sheets are just businessSean Gentille and Sean McIndoePlugging in Carlsson as the top-line center, while surrounding him with fellow 25-and-unders such as Porter Martone, Tyson Foerster, Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, Denver Barkey and Alex Bump — that’s the kind of young core that could have grown together and become a force in relatively short order, considering there would still be a fair amount of veteran talent supporting them, too. Martone, especially, already looks like he could be a future star.Instead, the gigantic hole at the top of the Flyers’ lineup remains. This past week only reinforces how difficult it’s going to be for Briere to fill it.