The Philadelphia Flyers said top prospect Cutter Gauthier didn't want to play for them, so they sent him packing Monday, trading the forward to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round draft pick.
Flyers general manager Danny Briere told reporters that the trade "was a long time coming." Briere said when the team drafted Gauthier that the forward told the front office that he was "built to be a Flyer and wanted to be a Flyer" before ultimately changing his mind.
"Maybe a few months later, he told us he didn't want to be a Flyer and didn't want to play for the Flyers," Briere said. "So, in our mind at first, we have to protect him. If he changes his mind again, and it's out there that he doesn't want to play, it's going to be tough for him to put the uniform on."
After Monday night's 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh, coach John Tortorella was succinct when asked about Gauthier not wanting to play for Philadelphia.
"Then we don't want you," Tortorella said.
The Flyers had selected Gauthier with the fifth pick of the 2022 NHL draft with the expectation that the hulking forward would be part of their future once he left Boston College, where he is a sophomore.
Tortorella was asked if he was surprised by Gauthier's decision.
"I don't know Cutter from a hole in the wall," Tortorella said. "I'm not too interested in talking about him. I rather talk about Jamie. He's the guy who's coming here."
But Gauthier, 19, has been in the news, scoring two goals and 12 points over seven games as the U.S. won its sixth gold medal at the IIHF world junior hockey championship last week. Gauthier finished tied with Buffalo Sabres prospect and Czechia center Jiri Kulich for the most points in the tournament.
So what would make the Flyers decide to move on from arguably their most promising prospect just days after he helped the U.S. win gold?
Briere said the team tried giving Gauthier space and tried to get in touch with him several times, only to not hear anything back from Gauthier's advisers.
"At some point, we had to make a decision and we thought with what happened a few days ago, that this was our time to get the highest value," Briere said.
Tortorella is excited about having Drysdale.
"Just talked to Jamie and watched a lot of tape on him and obviously, had discussions. We're really excited about the opportunity," he said. "A 21-year-old right-handed shot. We're going to put him on the power play right away -- one of them. He's just starting. Kid's head's spinning right now. It's his first time at this, but we're really excited about the opportunity. To get a second-rounder, it's a really good deal for us."
Prior to the trade, there had been questions around Drysdale's future. He was the sixth pick of the 2020 NHL draft and played one full season with the Ducks in 2021-22. He had four goals and 32 points in 82 games before sustaining injuries that have limited him to 18 games the past two years.
Those injuries, along with an acclaimed farm system led by defensemen such as Jackson LaCombe and Pavel Mintyukov, who are both newcomers with the team this season, created a scenario in which the Ducks (13-25-1) could move on from Drysdale.
Drysdale's arrival also gives the Flyers another top-four option in addition to what they have with Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Sean Walker and Cam York. Adding Drysdale to that group along with the fact he's still 21, gives the Flyers another young defenseman as one of the selling points of a rebuild that appears to be ahead of schedule. The Flyers (20-14-6) ended Monday in the first of the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots.
As for Gauthier, he projects as a top-six forward who is now slated to become part of the next wave of a Ducks' youth movement that already includes Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras. Gauthier, who has yet to sign his entry-level contract, has 13 goals and 23 points in 17 games for BC this season after scoring 16 goals and 37 points in 32 games during his freshman season.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.