This is something that Philadelphia Flyers fans are going to have to deal with for a long time is hearing about Cutter Gauthier. The Flyers selected him with the 5th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
They then had to trade him because they became aware that he had no interest in signing with them after he was done in college. They sent him to the Anaheim Ducks in a huge trade after the World Juniors was over.
Gauthier won the gold with Team USA and then had a Hobey Baker-caliber season with Boston College. He finished in the top three voting. BC lost in the National Championship to Denver.
After his NCAA season ended, Gauthier signed his ELC with the Ducks. He then made his NHL debut with them on Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Even though he has turned into a villain in Philly, people will want to know how he does so they can evaluate the trade as time passes. It wasn’t fun for Flyers fans to see him finish his BC season as dominant as he was.
In the game, Gauthier had his first career point. It was an assist on a goal scored by Jackson LaCombe. After scoring a ton of points with BC, he didn’t take long to get going in the NHL.
Gauthier didn’t look out of place in any way. Right off the opening draw, he had a little extra pep in his step. He even had Anaheim’s first shot on goal in the entire game. He wasn’t intimidated in any way.
The Ducks ended up playing spoiler for the Golden Knights who became the second Wild Card team with the loss. Frank Vatrano had a hat trick in Anaheim’s final game of the season.
Now, Vegas has to play the Dallas Stars in the first round in a rematch of the 2023 Western Conference Finals. That is a tough draw for them.
These are the stakes involved in the NHL and Gauthier was thrown right into it. With some of the young talent that they have there in the Anaheim organization (and another top five pick coming up), it won’t be long before they are competing for Wild Card spots as well.
As for the Flyers, they will get tired of hearing about Gauthier at some point. They need Jamie Drysdale (acquired in the Gauthier trade) to reach his full potential in the NHL to come out of this trade feeling okay about it.
If there is any positive to take out of this, it is that the Flyers were good at evaluating a talent ahead of the draft. If they can continue that theme going into the future, they will continue to find good players. It didn’t work out with Gauthier but it is time to move on.
