Sick Puck Links: Kirby Dach Files For Arbitration; Flyers Give Record-Breaking Offersheet to Leo Carlsson
Get ready to start your Monday morning with the latest and hottest news from the weekend across the hockey world!
The roster moves continued on the free agent market throughout the weekend, and we’ve got all the details for you here in today’s Sick Puck Links.
Sick Links:
Montreal Canadiens forward Kirby Dach was one of 15 players to file for arbitration on Sunday. How much do you think he will get in arbitration? #GoHabsGo #NHLArbitration
Written by: Nick Lariviere #thesickpodcast https://t.co/QS3YUDn2dQ
— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) July 5, 2026
Montreal Canadiens RFA forward Kirby Dach filed for arbitration on Sunday afternoon. The Canadiens and Dach will have until an undetermined date as of now before they will appear in front of a third party who will declare how much Dach should be awarded. He is currently in his final year of restricted free agent eligibility.
My colleague JD Lagrange wrote his weekly Sunday morning column of the “Out of the Bleu, Blanc, Rouge” about the most improved teams throughout the off-season thus far and how this affects the Montreal Canadiens right now. The column discusses the top 5 teams that have improved their organization over the summer before Lagrange talks about how the Canadiens who have yet to make any moves look in comparison to those teams. He also talks about affordable players that the Habs missed out on that would have been a good fit.
Missed my latest on @TheSickPodcasts?
The off-season winners aren’t always the ones making the biggest headlines. We took a closer look at where every move leaves the Canadiens today. #GoHabsGo #Habshttps://t.co/DEK27X80C9— GrumpaDotCA (@GrumpaDotCA) July 5, 2026
On Friday, I wrote about how the prices on the free agent market this year are showing that Kent Hughes’ patience to make the right move could potentially be what is best for the Montreal Canadiens in the long run. The article also talks about how much value the Canadiens are getting from signing some of their top young players to extensions a year early instead of overpaying on the UFA market.
Puck Links:
Although it happened on Friday afternoon, the biggest news of the weekend still remains the massive offer sheet that the Philadelphia Flyers gave to Anaheim Ducks RFA centre Leo Carlsson. The Flyers gave Carlsson a five-year contract worth $90 million ($18 million per year). This deal will make Carlsson the highest-paid player in the NHL for 2026-27. The Ducks have until this upcoming Friday to match the offer or let Carlsson go to the Flyers and get four first-round picks in return.
We have tendered an offer sheet to Anaheim center Leo Carlsson. The offer is a five-year contract worth an average annual value (AAV) of $18M, which would require four of the Flyers first-round draft picks in each of the next four seasons as compensation. https://t.co/nfhD4h6nEc
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) July 3, 2026
After potentially losing Carlsson to the Flyers, the Ducks made it a priority to get a deal done for restricted free agent defenseman Pavel Mintyukov. On Sunday evening, the Ducks and Mintyukov finalized a five-year deal worth $36 million, giving him a cap hit of $7.2 million.
https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/2073910275548598339
Alongside Dach, 14 other players filed for arbitration on Sunday, including Dallas Stars superstar Jason Robertson. Each of the players who filed for arbitration will be getting the day of their hearing in front of the arbitrator within the next few days. In the meantime, all 15 players and their teams will be looking to get a deal resolved before the hearings.
Before the eligible players filed for arbitration on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to sign RFA forward Egor Chinakhov to a three-year $18.75 million contract that will pay the Russian forward $6.25 million a season. Chinakhov is coming off a career-high 21 goals and 42 points in 72 games, split between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Penguins. He scored 18 goals and 36 points in 43 games since joining the Penguins via trade on December 29th.
The Penguins have signed forward Egor Chinakhov to a three-year contract.
Details: https://t.co/5LjGx6Ky7T pic.twitter.com/kTnJ8rCoiv
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 5, 2026
On what was an otherwise very quiet day in the NHL for signings and trades on Saturday, the Nashville Predators signed newly acquired forward Mavrik Bourque to a six-year $33 million deal, paying him $5.5 million a year. Bourque was previously acquired on July 1st in a trade alongside Ilya Lyubyshkin from the Stars in exchange for second and third round picks.
