C Cutter Gauthier - (2022, 5th, PHI; traded to ANA)

[Gliff]

It has to be a difficult spot for an NHL team to have so much draft capital invested in a player that won’t communicate with you and doesn’t have an agent yet (due to NCAA status) to do that communicating for him. Can’t blame the Flyers at all for very effectively maximizing what they could get back for him while the iron is hot.

He told them in May he wouldnt sign. Im not sure why it matters he wouldnt talk to them at the WJC. He told them what he had to say, why would he want to talk to them again? Nothing good (from his perspective) would be said.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Hutson should have been the MVP. Carrying his incompetent defense partner for 30 min a game.

Both Chesley and Hutson got better as the tournament went on, but Chesley was the one covering for Hutson, not the other way around.

Had Hutson not been so poor in 3 of their first 4 games, and produced more offense, I think he could have had an argument for MVP. But he wasn't even the team's most productive defenseman despite getting loads more ice time and PP1 duties, and was the team's worst dman through the first few games.

Brindley, Howard, or Nazar probably deserved the MVP more than Gauthier. That line was awesome. Ultimately I think Augustine would have been the best MVP choice, just because no skater really stood out (there were a bunch of guys with excellent performances).

 

[FlyguyOX]

He told them in May he wouldnt sign. Im not sure why it matters he wouldnt talk to them at the WJC. He told them what he had to say, why would he want to talk to them again? Nothing good (from his perspective) would be said.

lol? What a weird way of thinking.

If there was a rift in a relationship (over a silly disagreement, really, if it's the ELC burn rumor) and one party keeps trying to reach out to heal, console, or reconcile, then it's pure immaturity for Gauthier to refuse to even communicate. To reject guys like Sharp, Leclair, Briere, Jones and refuse to even hear or talk to them is just embarrassing and immature.

 

[NJ DevLolz]

Another strike against NCAA guys (especially the top ones) is that you have to pretty much guarantee you’re burning that first year of the elc to guarantee they’ll sign. I’m all for player’s rights and maximizing the bag but it is certainly a disadvantage when you compare that to CHL and Euro prospects

 

[Kalv]

Anyone who has seen them more than I, how does Gauthier compares to Boldy?

 

[sigx15]

Anyone who has seen them more than I, how does Gauthier compares to Boldy?

Tough to compare at the moment because Gauthier has played center for the past year and a half at BC. From a physical tool sense, I think Cutter is a bit better straight ahead skater and has a better shot but Boldy has the better hands in tight spaces and is a bit shiftier. I think Cutter could develop a bit more of a power game than Boldy but that's based on more glimpses of it from him. I see him almost as a potential Boldy/kreider hybrid if he keeps developing and moves to the wing as most of us assume he will now with the Ducks. I don't see him being as physically imposing/powerful as kreider nor do I think he will have the in tight hands Boldy can display but I can see a bit of both of their aspects in his game if he keeps developing

The good news for Ducks fans is he's developed so much defensively the past year and a half, he should be plenty good enough there on the wing. He's not afraid to block shots and has been killing penalties with BC, that should help him a lot at the next level. The big thing I'd want to see from him is developing the power forward, drive to the net and lower body power that could really take him to the next level as a winger. It's a bit of a projection game but there's a ton of potential with the switch and I've wanted to see him there for the past year

 

[TLEH]

He told them in May he wouldnt sign. Im not sure why it matters he wouldnt talk to them at the WJC. He told them what he had to say, why would he want to talk to them again? Nothing good (from his perspective) would be said.

Briere is full of shit that he doesn’t know why. He knows why.

 

[bigdog16]

He definitely did not dominate, unless points and faceoffs are all that matter. Go back and look at every shift. McGroarty and Snuggerud outworked him, made more skill plays, and turned the puck over less. The analytic numbers reward players for shooting, but Gauthier took a bunch of low-pct shots that killed possessions or denied a better chance for another teammate. Considering he was a 1C on the deepest team in the weaker bracket, and the U.S. had issues in three of their four group-stage games, my takeaway was that he was underwhelming. To be fair, most of the U.S. forwards were sloppy or made low-IQ plays in group play, but it’s fair to chalk it up to rust, travel, or chemistry

Got it - points don't matter.

 

[TLEH]

Got it - points don't matter.

He said points aren’t the only thing that matters. Ask anyone who watched the USA team win gold and they aren’t telling you Gauthier was the best player. I’d probably say Brindley was our best overall player. Or someone on the Howard Nazar Brindley line.

That doesn’t mean he had a bad tournament, he didn’t. He was good. Just didn’t dominate.

 

[Postulates]

Flyers had two major needs heading into last year’s draft — RHD and center. They began addressing the right side with Bonk (a very good prospect but more steady than spectacular) and the later picks, but they have not drafted a top-end center prospect since 2017.

Gauthier, who was drafted as a wing, was not as good as expected at the WJC and he has not been a pass-friendly center at BC this season. They have two first-round picks this year in a draft loaded with right defensemen, so a likely course of action is convince Michkov to play center (his playmaking and vision is well ahead of Gauthier’s but it’s not his natural position) and draft a potential 1C this year to replace Gauthier in the depth chart.

he led the tournament in points despite scoring 1 goal

 

[bigdog16]

He said points aren’t the only thing that matters. Ask anyone who watched the USA team win gold and they aren’t telling you Gauthier was the best player. I’d probably say Brindley was our best overall player. Or someone on the Howard Nazar Brindley line.

That doesn’t mean he had a bad tournament, he didn’t. He was good. Just didn’t dominate.

You can pick apart any player on Earth’s game and argue they were “just good”. I guess Wayne Gretzky’s career was “just good” because he only scored points and didn’t play a lick of defense

 

[canary]

lol? What a weird way of thinking.

If there was a rift in a relationship (over a silly disagreement, really, if it's the ELC burn rumor) and one party keeps trying to reach out to heal, console, or reconcile, then it's pure immaturity for Gauthier to refuse to even communicate. To reject guys like Sharp, Leclair, Briere, Jones and refuse to even hear or talk to them is just embarrassing and immature.

I don't see this as immature if refusing to communicate with the Flyers got him closer to his goal getting traded, i.e. it is business, not personal.

I suppose the prerequisite to this line of thinking is whether you believe this whole saga is immature from the player.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

He did play like he was built for the Flyers.

Probably didn't see eye-to-eye with Tortorella. But things change all the time. I mean, look at Umberger not wanting to sign with Vancouver because he and Kesler didn't like one another. Umberger probably would've signed with Vancouver.

I also remember him being ranked lower than five, so maybe it was just a case of him being competitive and wanting bragging rights on going higher in the draft.

 

[BigHitter67]

He told them in May he wouldnt sign. Im not sure why it matters he wouldnt talk to them at the WJC. He told them what he had to say, why would he want to talk to them again? Nothing good (from his perspective) would be said.

Just the kind of behaviour you’d expect from a kid named Cutter

 

[Gliff]

Just the kind of behaviour you’d expect from a kid named Cutter

Ya because I'm sure he had a part in naming himself. I bet you named yourself Karen also

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Another strike against NCAA guys (especially the top ones) is that you have to pretty much guarantee you’re burning that first year of the elc to guarantee they’ll sign. I’m all for player’s rights and maximizing the bag but it is certainly a disadvantage when you compare that to CHL and Euro prospects

CHLers can wait the 2 years and go back into the draft, it would be reckless financially to turn down the ELC though. European Pro guys (non KHL) could wait the 4 years and sign with whomever, it's just that most Europeans don't care where they play as long as they play in the NHL and not have to sit on buses in the A.

Any player, regardless of development route, could tell their draft rights team that they don't want to play for them and have "x" number of desired teams they'd play for. It's just that most find the Adam Fox and Eric Lindros route of doing business entering a league to be quite ungrateful behavior.

 

[FlyguyOX]

Friedman saying he cut off all communication with the org for the last year+ now because the team didn't sign him at the end of last year to help burn his ELC years.

Can you imagine the first time this kid gets healthy scratched or sent to the AHL?

Lots of trade requests in his future. I think he's going to make PLD look good when all is said and done.

 

[TLEH]

Back to my earlier point, Briere was full of shit and he knows exactly why.

My stance is more that this isn't a reason to not sign a Top 5 Pick. Not necessarily that I agree with what Gauthier is doing or whatever. Personally think its fine what he did. Expect to get heat in Philly and move on.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Gauthier is much better off in Anaheim where there will be no scrutiny on him—just look at how bad Dubois has been in LA with zero major backlash.

Besides, now Gauthier can do what he does best: float around on the wing and snipe goals occasionally, instead of being counted on as a future #1C.

(I’m glad my opinion on Gauthier was documented in this thread before the trade so I can’t be accused of being a salty Sharks fan!)

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

he led the tournament in points despite scoring 1 goal

You can pick apart any player on Earth’s game and argue they were “just good”. I guess Wayne Gretzky’s career was “just good” because he only scored points and didn’t play a lick of defense

He really wasn't that good though. In small sample sizes, points aren't a great reflection of who the best players were. Of course, over a larger sample, the ability to consistently pile up more points than your peers is obviously a valuable quality.

In this case, his point totals were inflated by secondary assists and PP points. He only had only 4 primary ES points, all assists, and only 7 primary points in total.

In the team's 3 games vs medal round opponents, he had only 1 point, a PP goal.

 

[TLEH]

BC season ended on March 11th. Philly had more than 10 games remaining at that point. He could have possibly been in the lineup on March 13th onward. Maybe even the 12th depending on how quick everything got done. I can understand an agent and player upset about that. Burning a year is a big deal. Especially when they were talking like he could play next season with a good camp.

So

1) 10 Game NHL free agency and arb clock
2) Signing bonus for 2022
3) Signing bonus for 2023 (July 1)

Yeah you can still make the team next year though kid, just have a good camp! Shit I would be pissed too. Thats like 200k in money that you're f***ed due to some salary cap overage answer? I would be pissed.

 

[bigdog16]

He really wasn't that good though. In small sample sizes, points aren't a great reflection of who the best players were. Of course, over a larger sample, the ability to consistently pile up more points than your peers is obviously a valuable quality.

In this case, his point totals were inflated by secondary assists and PP points. He only had only 4 primary ES points, all assists, and only 7 primary points in total.

In the team's 3 games vs medal round opponents, he had only 1 point, a PP goal.

Which is something he has been able to do

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Which is something he has been able to do

Yeah, he's been great in the NCAA, he just wasn't that good in the WJC

 

[93LEAFS]

BC season ended on March 11th. Philly had more than 10 games remaining at that point. He could have possibly been in the lineup on March 13th onward. Maybe even the 12th depending on how quick everything got done. I can understand an agent and player upset about that. Burning a year is a big deal. Especially when they were talking like he could play next season with a good camp.

So

1) One game ELC burn
2) 10 Game NHL free agency and arb clock
3) Signing bonus for 2022
4) Signing bonus for 2023 (July 1)

Yeah you can still make the team next year though kid, just have a good camp! Shit I would be pissed too. Thats like 200k in money that you're f***ed due to some salary cap overage answer? I would be pissed.

He needed to play 10 games to burn the ELC year. Otherwise it would slide. He would be deemed as signing his ELC at 19. It'd be the same situation as Clayton Keller, whose contract slid after only playing 3 games.

 

[TLEH]

He needed to play 10 games to burn the ELC year. Otherwise it would slide. He would be deemed as signing his ELC at 19. It'd be the same situation as Clayton Keller, whose contract slid after only playing 3 games.

Ah fair forgot about that. Regardless they had more than 10 to play. Assuming its more around the "guarantee me to play 10 games" which I can see being a bigger problem.