The Anaheim Ducks’ franchise centre is staying put in Orange County.

The team announced Thursday morning their decision to match the Philadelphia Flyers’ offer sheet for Leo Carlsson — a five-year deal with an average annual value of $18 million.

The contract has the highest AAV in NHL history, surpassing Kirill Kaprizov’s $17 million AAV deal that goes into effect this season.

Carlsson was a restricted free agent after playing out his three-year entry-level contract with the Ducks, which carried a $950,000 cap hit.

The 21-year-old is coming off a breakout campaign in which he established himself as the team’s top-line centre. Carlsson scored 29 goals and 38 assists for 67 points in 70 games and followed it up with 11 points in 12 playoff games.

The Ducks have their cornerstone player locked up, but the offer sheet situation leaves them with little room for error in upcoming contract negotiations. The team still needs to agree on a contract extension for restricted free agent Cutter Gauthier. He had 41 goals and 69 points last season, leading the team in both categories.

According to Puckpedia, Anaheim has $9.073 million in projected cap space following the signing of Carlsson. Before that, the club had focused primarily on signing depth players, but AJ Greer’s $4.25 million cap hit and Pavel Mintyukov’s $7.2 million extension have left them without much wiggle room.

The Ducks will have $7 million forward Troy Terry on LTIR to start the season as he recovers from offseason hip surgery. They may also explore trading veterans like Frank Vatrano ($4.57 million cap hit through 2028) to clear........

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