The biggest loser in Week 1 of Free Agency.

Each and every year after the National Hockey League Entry Draft and the start of NHL Free agency, fans and pundits alike love to discuss who the biggest winners and losers are coming out of those two major events.

While there will once again be plenty of debate around who the biggest winner is this year, I think we can now effectively wrap up the biggest loser with the Anaheim Ducks and general manager Pat Verbeek taking this year's title by a landslide.

We have just witnessed the dismantling of an NHL franchise in what has been one of the biggest talent drains I've seen over such a short period in recent NHL history. What first started off as a trickle of players heading out the door has turned into a nightmare for the Ducks, and it's a nightmare they still have yet to wake up from.

Somewhat predictably the Ducks would lose both veteran defenseman Jacob Trouba and veteran defenseman John Carlsson to free agency, with both men expecting large new contracts while the Ducks had to contend with the threat of an offer sheet for star forward Leo Carlsson. The Ducks would let both men walk but they would do more than just that, also moving players off their roster to ensure they had enough cap space to match any potential offer sheets from opposing teams.

That resulted in the Ducks trading away 22 year old defenseman Olen Zellweger for just a second round pick and dealing away centerman Mason MacTavish, who was reportedly in very high demand, for only a mid first round pick and a late first round pick (15th overall and 29th overall).

As it turns out the Ducks were right to be wary of an offer sheet coming their way, but no one could have anticipated what the Philadelphia Flyers and general manager Daniel Briere would drop on Friday. The Flyers have now hammered the Ducks with a ridiculous offer sheet, one that would instantly make Carlsson the highest paid player in the NHL on a 5 year deal with an average annual value of $18 million per season. To make matters worse, reports indicate that the Flyers are flexing their financial muscle and have made this a heavily front loaded offer sheet in an effort to prevent the Ducks from being able to match.

The Ducks are now left with no options, overpay Carlsson after draining the team around him of talent or simply let the Flyers pull off a successful offer sheet and recoup the 4 first round picks headed their way.

In either scenario, the Ducks are clearly the biggest losers in Week 1 of Free Agency.