Confirmed Trade: [ANA/PHI] Cutter Gauthier for Jamie Drysdale and 2025 2nd round pick

[Gliff]

I think we have two separate definitions of ghosting. I think its a lack of respect to refuse to meet with the Flyers - considering they still valued him tremendously, and kept this request quiet in case he changed his mind. Danny and Keith are genuinely good people.

He has every right to not want to play here, but to not take a call, or to not walk out to the hallway. Thats disappointing behavior.

Look I totally get being disappointed and hating him, but let’s be honest for a bit. There is a difference between showing a lack of respect and ghosting. Like I said in a previous post, if this was a relationship he broke up with the Flyers and went no contact. He didn’t ghost them.

Also can we please admit that them not going public was not just for him lol. If they went public it likely would tank his value.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

There were no cap reasons that prevented them from signing their top prospect at the time. They absolutely could have done so as soon as his freshman season ended but opted not to. Once they decided against it, it seems the damage was done. Where did you see that they allegedly told him it was due to cap reasons?

Maybe he should’ve taken the meeting, but if his mind was already made up I don’t see how that would’ve changed anything. Keep in mind we’re also just hearing one side of the story so far…

Agree 100% with this. What makes the most sense is that CG was salty that the Flyers didn't start his ELC ticking after BC's season ended last year. And I get the Flyers didn't want to bring a prospect into the train-wreck that was the Flyers last year, but there are ramifications when making those decisions. What doesn't fit with what we've heard so far is that CG apparently made the decision to not play for the Flyers before that occurred. Will be really interesting to find out what actually occurred.

 

[usahockey22flyers]

Look I totally get being disappointed and hating him, but let’s be honest for a bit. There is a difference between showing a lack of respect and ghosting. Like I said in a previous post, if this was a relationship he broke up with the Flyers and went no contact. He didn’t ghost them.

Also can we please admit that them not going public was not just for him lol. If they went public it likely would tank his value.

Him and Danny had a relationship though - you don't handle business like that. We can just agree to disagree

 

[lwvs84]

Guys, I think we're missing the biggest part of this... Tortorella will absolutely not sign with the Ducks now!

 

[bleedgreen]

Agree 100% with this. What makes the most sense is that CG was salty that the Flyers didn't start his ELC ticking after BC's season ended last year. And I get the Flyers didn't want to bring a prospect into the train-wreck that was the Flyers last year, but there are ramifications when making those decisions. What doesn't fit with what we've heard so far is that CG apparently made the decision to not play for the Flyers before that occurred. Will be really interesting to find out what actually occurred.

These ramifications aren’t really appropriate. No team should HAVE to sign the prospect who wants to burn a year off his elc. That hasn’t become a thing you can demand imo. Just because it made sense to other teams doesn’t mean it has to make sense to others. Wasn’t he coming off his freshman season? Acting like this is now a common expectation and that teams are making a mistake that they should have to pay for if they don’t want to do it ridiculous. I’m not a fan of either team, and if a guy did this to my team I’d be fine with trading him away too.

Him demanding a trade and refusing to talk to the team after the one video meeting where the team thought everything was good and they were meeting him to agree to sign him is over the top. I think he should’ve told them this was the reason why as well, despite that not being something he has to do. This should become a publicly known thing, that teams taking NCAA players should now know that it’s their own fault if they don’t sign a guy after his freshman year post season so that he can start his clock to ufa earlier without putting the work in. It’s expected that they can now skip training camp and putting in the work at the NHL level for the whole season, its standard to skip everything and join the organization for a handful for games while getting credit for being there the whole year.

Of course teams when appropriate can say, we’d rather just have you next year when the team is in a better place and we can get the elc value. There’s nothing greedy about that, it’s common sense to want that. Sometimes a player and the team are in a space where it makes sense to give them the short year, sometimes it’s not there. Ending an affiliation with a team over it seems ridiculous, and I don’t know that I believe it. If it’s true then he didn’t really want to be in Philly in the first place imo.

 

[SenzZen]

Not up on all the rumours, but if Gauthier did let the Flyers know that he wouldn’t sign months ago- good on Briere for holding out until now while his stock is at its highest.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

These ramifications aren’t really appropriate. No team should HAVE to sign the prospect who wants to burn a year off his elc. That hasn’t become a thing you can demand imo. Just because it made sense to other teams doesn’t mean it has to make sense to others. Wasn’t he coming off his freshman season? Acting like this is now a common expectation and that teams are making a mistake that they should have to pay for if they don’t want to do it ridiculous. I’m not a fan of either team, and if a guy did this to my team I’d be fine with trading him away too.

Him demanding a trade and refusing to talk to the team after the one video meeting where the team thought everything was good and they were meeting him to agree to sign him is over the top. He should told them this was the reason why as well. This should become a publicly known thing, that teams taking NCAA players should now know that it’s their own fault if they don’t sign a guy after his freshman year post season so that he can start his clock to ufa earlier without putting the work in. It’s expected that they can now skip training camp and putting in the work at the NHL level for the whole season, its standard to skip everything and join the organization for a handful for games while getting credit for being there the whole year.

Of course teams when appropriate can say, we’d rather just have you next year when the team is in a better place and we can get the elc value. There’s nothing greedy about that, it’s common sense to want that. Sometimes a player and the team are in a space where it makes sense to give them the short year, sometimes it’s not there. Ending an affiliation with a team over it seems ridiculous, and I don’t know that I believe it. If it’s true then he didn’t really want to be in Philly in the first place imo.

If you draft a collegiate bound player in the top 5 - I think that it has become an expectation based on the player's desire. Anytime something is done across the league that because the standard for the most part.

And on the bolded highlight - burning the 1st year on the ELC doesn't change UFA eligibility. For a season to count as a year of service for UFA eligibility the player must play in 40 games. It just burns the 1st year of the ELC so the player gets out of that earlier (which can be beneficial to either the player or the team depending on how close they are to contributing significantly).

 

[Selanne00008]

I think there's something more to it. Cutter seems douchey but what if there's something with Philly mangement he wants to keep private and not bash? We just don't know.

Or maybe he just doesn't want to be in the Northeast. He grew up in the Southwest? If so, he found a perfect landing spot. By the time he's making an impact, the rest of the Ducks should be too.

I'm fine with the trade demand. Players can take more ownership of their future. To say otherwsie seems like a socks and sandals get off my lawn type of attitude. NBA players demand WHERE they are traded to on a yearly basis it seems.

 

[DavidBL]

If he told Danny “this is important to me, get it done or I’m out” - do you really think Danny Briere would have said, “no way”?

Why would anyone ever think it wasn't important?

 

[TS Quint]

Cutter didn't want to become the next Nolan Patrick.

”get back out there kid. You just got your bell rung, you will be fine”.

 

[tictactoe]

He's just informed the Ducks he will not sign with them.

I heard he wants to come to Philly again...

Cutter didn't want to become the next Nolan Patrick.

”get back out there kid. You just got your bell rung, you will be fine”.

Patrick was diagnosed with a migraine disorder, a condition which apparently runs in his family. Or his family also played for the Flyers.

 

[Pelle31]

After reading 40 pages here are my takeaways

- Assuming Friedman knows more than the rocket scientists on these boards (how blasphemous of me) Flyer brass straight up fumbled the bag in dealing with Cutter.
- The comments by Torts while somewhat comical are not a good look, the kid was your second best prospect and you dont know him from a hole in the wall... nice.
- Its fascinating how no one has mentioned that Phillys golden boy prospect (Michkov) literally did the exact same thing to the Coyotes

-Friedman does know more than people on HFboards but he's also in the business of getting clicks online.
-The comments by Torts is most likely in jest because he deals with reporters all the time and likes having fun with them to try and piss them off by making comments.
-Big difference between Anaheim's new golden boy, Gauthier, and Michkov. Michkov had the adult attitude in informing Arizona that he wouldn't report there if they drafted him before the draft where as Gauthier blew smoke up Briere's ass stating that he would be a typical Flyer and was looking forward to playing in Philly before Briere drafted him. Then like a immature teenager he wasn't man enough to meet with the Philly brass when he decided that he wouldn't sign there. And from many reports out there, it was over the fact that the Flyers wouldn't sign him after his freshmen year and wanted him to go back to college to play for another year. Knowing that the Flyers could have used the 5th overall pick to draft defenseman David Jiricek who went 6th overall to Columbus.
-As for winners and losers of the trade, it's hard to tell right but the Flyers have a player who will be currently playing in the league where as Anaheim doesn't. Also, there's no guarantee that Gauthier will end up signing there but we'll see. Time will tell who got the better end of the deal.

 

[DavidBL]

The idea that players owe explanations to teams seems a bit out dated. Is it ideal, sure. But at the end of the day it's a personal decision. Could it have been a misunderstanding, maybe. We'll probably never know. The fact is that he did tell the team. Obviosuly something changed between the time he was drafted and in the next 8-12 months. People just don't want to believe there is any good reason for it and it must be a character flaw.

The idea that he felt stilted by the org for not getting to burn a year off his ELC makes tons of sense. That delays his next deal by a year and COULD cost him millions of dollars in earning potential. The flip side is that he'd then have 3 years to prove he deserves more than he might after 2 years. This isn't a random collage player, he was a top 5 draft pick. He's expected to me an impact almost immediately. The expectation is a bigger second deal. It's common for players taken that high. The team was more interested in getting the most out of the ELC. It makes sense but that is the risk you run.

 

[FiveTacos]

Why would anyone ever think it wasn't important?

Because to fans, money is irrelevant, only what's good for the on ice product. They don't care what's best for the player, only what's best for the team they root for. Which is fair.

But players, especially early, have to maximize. A 6th rounder may be grateful to get a contract at all, and at the $ amounts for a guy like that, even if he breaks out, the ultimate difference between getting that first year ELC burned and not might not be huge. For a guy taken near the top of the draft you're talking millions between the first two contracts when you burn the 1st year vs not.

If you're going to draft any college player that high, be prepared to put up that extra money. That's just how it is. Just like you don't lowball a CHL draftee, knowing they could always re-enter the draft in 2 years.

 

[DavidBL]

Because to fans, money is irrelevant, only what's good for the on ice product. They don't care what's best for the player, only what's best for the team they root for. Which is fair.

But players, especially early, have to maximize. A 6th rounder may be grateful to get a contract at all, and at the $ amounts for a guy like that, even if he breaks out, the ultimate difference between getting that first year ELC burned and not might not be huge. For a guy taken near the top of the draft you're talking millions between the first two contracts when you burn the 1st year vs not.

If you're going to draft any college player that high, be prepared to put up that extra money. That's just how it is. Just like you don't lowball a CHL draftee, knowing they could always re-enter the draft in 2 years.

Totally agree. I had a very similar post right above.

 

[usahockey22flyers]

Because to fans, money is irrelevant, only what's good for the on ice product. They don't care what's best for the player, only what's best for the team they root for. Which is fair.

But players, especially early, have to maximize. A 6th rounder may be grateful to get a contract at all, and at the $ amounts for a guy like that, even if he breaks out, the ultimate difference between getting that first year ELC burned and not might not be huge. For a guy taken near the top of the draft you're talking millions between the first two contracts when you burn the 1st year vs not.

If you're going to draft any college player that high, be prepared to put up that extra money. That's just how it is. Just like you don't lowball a CHL draftee, knowing they could always re-enter the draft in 2 years.

He just missed out on 900k for taking his ball and going back to Boston College though???

 

[thedjpd]

Totally agree. I had a very similar post right above.

Yes, but in NOT communicating with them, he lost the year anyway, rather than possibly still getting it during the season as an option. It doesn't jive at all.

"You didn't pay me then, and burn my year! So I'm going to now wait another year to burn it!"

What?

 

[Scoripo Rising]

More and more like the NBA everyday.

Sounds like there is some blame on both sides but Cutter sounds soft and baby doo doo.

 

[DavidBL]

Yes, but in NOT communicating with them, he lost the year anyway, rather than possibly still getting it during the season as an option. It doesn't jive at all.

"You didn't pay me then, and burn my year! So I'm going to now wait another year to burn it!"

What?

What exactly didn't he communicate? Does he really need to explicitly spell out to the flyers the why he wants to sign his ELC? They know why and and they chose to not do it. I heard they even offered AHL deal. That's a clear message to the player. They don't want to burn that first year. At that point he says I no longer want to play for you. It fits the timeline. Once Philly made that decision he was going to have to wait no matter what. He'd be in his second year now if Philly hadn't made that decision. Now he can go to another team and still burn the first year of the ELC this season and he sticks it to the team he sees as wronging him.

 

[Marlowe Syn]

He's managed a way to piss off an NHL organization and one of the most notorious fan bases in all of sports, as college underclassmen. Impressive.

I cannot wait for Anaheim @ Philadelphia next season.

 

[FiveTacos]

He just missed out on 900k for taking his ball and going back to Boston College though???

Plus the extra year at the other end, when he otherwise would be on his 2nd (and likely multimillion dollar) second contract. So yeah, essentially that move by Philly saved them a few million, and cost him that amount. By the time he's in his mid 20s he'll almost certainly end up a few million lighter in his wallet compared to if they'd handled it differently.

When you do what they did, it is essentially no different than if they'd drafted a CHL player and then lowballed him. So let's not pretend this was anything but what it is ... Briere played hardball with a high pick. Don't do that and then cry when the other side gets pissed. If he had done something equivalent with a CHL guy they'd be threatening to re-enter the draft.

 

[Evergreen]

What I find interesting is that Gauthier must have felt really offended by the Flyers mgmt to have basically refused to sign or even speak with them further. If the issue that caused the rift was, as is being reported, that the Flyers wouldn’t sign him and call him up at the end of last season, well I can understand why he’d be disappointment or even angry. But at this point the ship has sailed. Even if he signs with another team, he can’t go back in time and get those games in so he can burn a year off his ELC.

 

[DavidBL]

What I find interesting is that Gauthier must have felt really offended by the Flyers mgmt to have basically refused to sign or even speak with them further. If the issue that caused the rift was, as is being reported, that the Flyers wouldn’t sign him and call him up at the end of last season, well I can understand why he’d be disappointment or even angry. But at this point the ship has sailed. Even if he signs with another team, he can’t go back in time and get those games in so he can burn a year off his ELC.

True, but now it won't be the team that cost him that year. Why let Philly benefit and get what they want? If they won't give him what he wanted why give then what they wanted? It's sends a message to the league too. Teams already have a lot of leverage over these players.

 

[HanSolo]

What I find interesting is that Gauthier must have felt really offended by the Flyers mgmt to have basically refused to sign or even speak with them further. If the issue that caused the rift was, as is being reported, that the Flyers wouldn’t sign him and call him up at the end of last season, well I can understand why he’d be disappointment or even angry. But at this point the ship has sailed. Even if he signs with another team, he can’t go back in time and get those games in so he can burn a year off his ELC.

On the flip side of your argument, this reality is sufficient to keep a young man upset.

 

[FiveTacos]

What I find interesting is that Gauthier must have felt really offended by the Flyers mgmt to have basically refused to sign or even speak with them further. If the issue that caused the rift was, as is being reported, that the Flyers wouldn’t sign him and call him up at the end of last season, well I can understand why he’d be disappointment or even angry. But at this point the ship has sailed. Even if he signs with another team, he can’t go back in time and get those games in so he can burn a year off his ELC.

No, but would you want to lock yourself in for the next 8 years or so with that organization and the people who did that? If someone in business cost you lots of money you can't get back to save some money, you gonna keep working with them when you have other identical financial options? You gonna trust them to operate in good faith going forward?