January 09, 2024
Eric Bolte/USA TODAY Sports
What could've been, but what Cutter Gauthier didn't want to be a part of anymore.
Cutter Gauthier was going to be a Philadelphia Flyer. He wanted to be one. Until he didn't. And then he wasn't.
That was a startling revelation to have dropped on the Flyers faithful Monday night, seemingly out of nowhere and just minutes into a home rivalry game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A top prospect who Philadelphia drafted at No. 5 overall just over a year and a half ago, and was thought to be a key piece to the rebuild, had been dealt to the Anaheim Ducks without warning, and just like that, was no longer part of the plans.
How? Why? What went wrong here? Was this even real? – the Flyers' Instagram post announcing the trade was how I found out, and I genuinely thought I was looking at a fake account until I clicked the profile and then checked my email.
It's real. The breakdown happened months ago, general manager Danny Brière later confirmed to the media during the first intermission of Monday night's 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh, and as for why, he said the Flyers never got an answer from Gauthier's camp – though theories and rumors were flying around aplenty in the immediate fallout.
But the timeline, as Brière explained it, went like this:
• Gauthier returned from the IIHF World Championship at the end of May and informed the Flyers that he no longer wanted to be a part of the organization, which led into him not attending the team's development camp in the summer.
• Other teams found out about this in the summer and GMs started calling, to which the Flyers made a concerted effort with those executives to keep things as quiet as possible. 1) To protect Gauthier in the event he changed his mind, Brière said – how could he still put the uniform on after that if word got out and he ultimately stayed? And 2) As president of hockey ops Keith Jones later told the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast Monday night, to preserve Gauthier's trade value.
• Gauthier's camp went no contact with the Flyers and months went by. Brière and Jones flew out to the World Junior Championship in Sweden – where Gauthier was on his way to winning gold with Team USA while putting in a tournament-leading performance – to try and present their case to Gauthier's camp one last time, but a meeting was refused. Anaheim had promising defenseman Jamie Drysdale on the table and World Juniors put Gauthier's value at an all-time high.
So it was time to pull the trigger, make the move, and in turn, put everything out there – at least as far as anyone within the Flyers knew or was willing to divulge.
"It was a long time coming," Brière said. "It's been going on for a while. We tried to give him space. We tried to get in touch with him many times. They wouldn't communicate as far as the Gauthier side. So, at some point, we had to make a decision, and we thought with what happened just a few days ago [at World Juniors], this was our time to probably get the highest value."
Which brings us here, with the Flyers' rebuild getting thrown its first (nasty) curveball, and among the fan base as far as it concerns someone who was expected to become one of the franchise's next stars, Pandora's box getting opened.
Looking at the trade in isolation, this could easily prove a win-win for all involved. Drysdale is 21 years old and a gifted skater, who already comes NHL ready and with all the tools to become a top-pairing defenseman, which is a major boost to a developing Flyers blue line corps of Cam York, Egor Zamula, Emil Andrae, and eventually, Oliver Bonk.
"Just talked to Jamie. Watched a lot of tape on him. Obviously had discussions," head coach Jonh Tortorella said postgame Monday night. "We’re really excited about the opportunity. 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 is spinning right now. It’s his first time at this, but we’re really excited about the opportunity. Get a second rounder, I think it’s a really good deal for us."
But big picture, the trajectory of the Flyers' rebuild has shifted. To what extent isn't clear yet, and won't be for a while, but now Russian phenom Matvei Michkov, who likely won't be here for a couple more years at least, is alone as the grand gamble in this whole vision.
The Flyers as they're constructed now have surprised many and are playing well above expectations. At this rate, another high draft pick to land another dice roll on a future star this summer just isn't looking in the cards. The front office's way of building is going to have to be smarter from here on out and much more calculated.
And as another chapter in the ever-expansive lore of Philadelphia sports: Congratulations, Cutter Gauthier. You're the new J.D. Drew.
Look, the Flyers don't exactly have the city's undivided attention right now. They're working to earn it back. But with this moment, intended or not, all of Philadelphia's eyes turned back to the Orange and Black again, and it knows that it's just been scorned by a 19-year-old who very easily could've been part of the solution.
Instead, he decided he didn't want to be and ultimately forced his way out. Not anymore, even after putting the jersey on and saying he was built to be a Flyer on draft night two summers ago.
The Ducks' next trip to the Wells Fargo Center, when it comes next season now...the place is going to be a madhouse, probably regardless of how good the Flyers are by that point. Philly doesn't forget.
And immediately on Monday night, while having to announce a move that alters the outlook of the franchise no matter how it's spun, the Flyers, quite literally from the top on down, established and carried through a consistent message: If you don't want to be here, then we don't want you.
"He didn't want to be a Flyer," Jones put it bluntly through a calm demeanor during Monday night's broadcast from upstairs. "You don't want to be a Flyer? You're not going to be a Flyer."
"You don't want to be a Flyer? You're not going to be a Flyer."
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 9, 2024
Flyers President of Hockey Ops, Keith Jones discusses the trade with the Ducks. pic.twitter.com/btUehFXsVO
Tortorella's stance, put in the unabashed way only he could downstairs: "Then we don't want you."
"I don't know Cutter from a hole in the wall," he said. "And I'm not too interested in talking about him. I'd rather talk about Jamie. He's the guy that's coming here."
"I don't know Cutter from a hole in the wall." 😂
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 9, 2024
Coach John Tortorella weighs in on the Flyers trade. pic.twitter.com/yqNMdBWEjB
Travis Sanheim, who was one "yes" in St. Louis away from being traded a few months ago, in the locker room postgame: "Just got the news as I walked out of the room. Obviously, if somebody doesn't want to be here, we're happy to have a guy that does...
"I hadn't talked to [Gauthier]. Only thing that I heard was the [development camp], not wanting to be there. So obviously, as a player in this locker room, that was something that stayed with us. For as long as I know, you show up to development camp whether you skate or not. So like I said, if he doesn't want to be here, we're happy to move on and get the pieces that we did."
Travis Sanheim on the trade
— The Flyers Zone (@TheFlyersZone) January 9, 2024
About Cutter:
• “If he doesn’t want to be here we’re happy to move on”
• Never talked to Cutter, heard about development camp, didnt sit right with the locker room
About Jamie:
• Heard he’s a great skater
• Excited to see what he will bring pic.twitter.com/htp9NrC3Aj
And then team governor Dan Hilferty, who went on the Snow the Goalie podcast set up in the city terrace during the second intermission and didn't seem all that interested in maintaining diplomacy over the situation: "It's gonna be a rough ride here and he earned it, because you know what? We're Philadelphians. We want people who want to be here with us."
“I feel bad for Cutter… well I don’t really feel bad for Cutter when he comes to Philadelphia. It’s gonna be a rough ride here and he earned it. We’re Philadelphians and we want people who want to be here with us.” - Dan Hilferty pic.twitter.com/DAXTvkHomO
— Snow The Goalie: A Flyers Podcast (@SnowTheGoalie) January 9, 2024
Gauthier didn't want to be here anymore and forced the Flyers' hand. They did what they had to do and got a solid defenseman back to move forward with.
But the whole situation, it's a stunner. It'll sting for a long time, and even after the pain is gone, no one's going to be willing to forget. Not in Philadelphia.
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