Ducks’ Joel Quenneville sends message to to Leo Carlsson after historic contract
Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville had a direct message to forward Leo Carlsson, who is now one of the highest paid players in the NHL.
Even though the Philadelphia Flyers attempted to pry away scoring forward Leo Carlsson from the Anaheim Ducks with a record-breaking offer sheet, the Ducks ultimately matched it.
Carlsson, who was a restricted free agent, is now under contract with the Ducks for the next five seasons, carrying an $18 million salary cap hit; the deal will begin in the 2026-27 NHL season and run through 2031.
According to Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville, the offer sheet was a stunner, but he’s happy that Carlsson got paid and is still with the club.
“We all got an idea when we saw it, it’s like, ‘I’m happy for Leo’. At the same time, I think, it was a shocker,” Quenneville explained via Spittin’ Chiclets on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I commend Beeker (Pat Verbeek) on handling a tough situation well. We’re still getting everybody together here going into Camp, we’ll see how it all plays out. But I’m glad we got the player. Leo’s a special guy. I expect him to continue on a great start to his career and build off what he’s done.”
Quenneville then said that he doesn’t want Carlsson to change his approach to the game now that he’s one of the highest-paid players in the NHL.
“Don’t change yourself in how you approach the game, but hey, let’s get ready to come and take some pride in being rewarded, but at the same time, don’t change the way you are,” he said.
Carlsson, Quenneville, and the Ducks open Training Camp later this month and open the preseason against the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 20.
Even though the Philadelphia Flyers attempted to pry away scoring forward Leo Carlsson from the Anaheim Ducks with a record-breaking offer sheet, the Ducks ultimately matched it. Carlsson, who was a restricted free agent, is now under contract with the Ducks for the next five seasons, carrying an $18 million salary cap hit; the deal will begin in the 2026-27 NHL season and run through 2031.