Rangers fans know exactly how devastated Flyers fans feel after the Leo Carlsson match

For just under a week's time there was a brief fear for fans of the New York Rangers that there would be some new competition coming to the division that would put a damper on the team's offseason makeover. The Philadelphia Flyers submitted a massive $90 million offer sheet to budding center Leo Carlsson, and after a ton of deliberation the Anaheim Ducks matched it to keep their guy in town.

The move is one that has brought tons of joy to fans in Southern California, disappointment to Broad Street, and the latter is something Blueshirts fans know all too well.

Failed Carlsson offer sheet is a throwback to 1997

In August of 1997, Joe Sakic signed a three-year, $21 million offer sheet that would have brought him to Broadway to replace Mark Messier, and the Rangers brain trust structured the deal in such a way where they felt there was no way Colorado could match. At the time the Avalanche were a struggling franchise that had just lost $8 million the year prior, and they needed to spend money on a new rink.

While $7 million a year doesn't seem like a bad salary for an elite No. 1 center, even back then, the Rangers had an ace up their sleeve. The deal included a $15 million signing bonus upfront, something that MSG President Dave Checketts and 1994 Cup architect Neil Smith thought would seal the deal.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, the offer sheet failed because the owners of the Avalanche received a major cash infusion due to the success of the box office hit Air Force One which starred Harrison Ford. Ascent Entertainment Group also owned the Avalanche, and their stroke of luck came at the right time for Colorado and their fans.

The full tale of events was recently highlighted in a documentary that aired on Amazon Prime. The long story short is that the initial earnings of the move were enough to pay Sakic's bonus up front, and help build what became Ball Arena in Denver.

Carlsson deal was structured in similar way

Sakic's deal featured a $15 million signing bonus which was pretty extraordinary at the time, and the Rangers included it because they thought it would seal the deal. Carlsson's deal has a $19,950,000 bonus this year, a $18,100,000 bonus next year, a $15,200,000 bonus the year after, and a $15,000,000 bonus in the final year of the deal. All in, Carlsson is taking home $83.5 million in bonuses with the remaining being salary paid throughout the course of each league year.

Philadelphia structured it in such a way because they though it would break Anaheim's financial structure, and because historically they've been very careful with how they run the team.

The Rangers made the same gamble, looking at Colorado operating at a loss and needing a new arena, and dared the Avalanche to make a move. The biggest difference in these situations is that there's a good chance Colorado would have lost Sakic if not for the late windfall.

While Anaheim may not like what this has done to their finances, they will have to just live with it for this year at a minimum. While they can't trade Carlsson for a year, if they ultimately decide it isn't working for them, they can always work out a deal to a rich team in the league that doesn't care about these bonuses.

In any case, the Flyers took a huge gamble trying to add a player who would have been a major difference maker for their team. It was structured in a very smart and devious way, similar to what the Rangers tried to do for Sakic. At the end of the day it didn't work, and Rangers fans of yesteryear certainly can understand what Flyers fans are going through, but you'd be hard pressed to find any shedding a tear for those part of the cult of Gritty.

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