Ducks’ nightmare may be getting worse with second offer sheet coming!
Anaheim is suddenly staring at another potential strike on its young core.
The Anaheim Ducks were already reeling from the Leo Carlsson offer sheet bombshell on Friday when word began circulating that their troubles might only be getting started. The next name drawing serious attention from rival front offices is defenseman Pavel Mintyukov.
According to PuckPedia, multiple teams have reached out to Mintyukov’s agent about presenting a formal offer sheet, and at least one was reportedly expected to be officially tendered on Friday. Mintyukov would still need to decide whether to sign any such offer.
Several teams have approached Mintyukov’s agent @HockeyAgent1 about an offer sheet, and it seems likely at least one is formally offered today.
Mintyukov would then still need to decide if he wants to sign it.
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 3, 2026
The timing is brutal for Anaheim. Just hours earlier, the Philadelphia Flyers rocked the league by signing Carlsson to a five-year offer sheet worth $18 million per season, instantly making the 21-year-old center the highest-paid player in hockey. The Ducks have seven days to match that deal or lose Carlsson in exchange for four first-round picks.
Chris Johnston added fuel to the fire by noting that rumblings suggested the Carlsson situation might not be the only offer sheet of the day in the NHL.
BREAKING: At least one NHL team formally presented Pavel Mintyukov with an offersheet today, per @PuckPedia.
Anaheim may be in trouble.. pic.twitter.com/2x32ClXk0E
— PuckEmpire (@puckempire) July 3, 2026
The connection to Mintyukov is straightforward. Anaheim entered the summer with a league-leading $35.2 million in projected cap space, built specifically to protect their young core. But matching Carlsson’s $18 million AAV would devour nearly half of that room and severely limit general manager Pat Verbeek’s ability to sign his remaining restricted free agents, Mintyukov and Cutter Gauthier chief among them.
Rival teams appear to recognize the squeeze. The Carlsson deal is heavily front-loaded, with approximately $39 million owed in the first 12 months alone. That structure was reportedly designed to maximize the financial strain on Anaheim’s cap in the short term, even if the Ducks technically possess the raw space to absorb it.
There are rumblings this may not be the only offer sheet of the day in the NHL …
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 3, 2026
Reports pointed to four separate teams presenting formal offer sheets to Carlsson, with several others expressing strong interest. Multiple agents told Darren Dreger this wave of activity will “juice the market” going forward.
It’s been said that Anaheim had been hoping to lock up both Carlsson and Gauthier in the $10 million to $12 million AAV range, with Beckett Sennecke next in line down the road. That plan now appears to be in serious jeopardy.
A Mintyukov offer sheet would put Verbeek in an almost impossible position. Even a moderately priced deal for the young blueliner would further erode the cap flexibility Anaheim needs to keep its rebuilding core intact.
Anaheim is quiet for now but the Ducks’ front office is facing what could be the most consequential week in franchise history, with the possibility that the offer sheets are not done arriving.
