For Anaheim's sake, hopefully they were able to have a conversation with Gauthier prior to letting Drysdale go.

Who's advising a 19 year kid to ghost an NHL GM when you haven't even signed your first contract?

I told you guys that Cutter wouldn't play for Philly, once more i've hit something ... **** did KH should have tried Barron + 2 1st in 2025 ...

#VoteGudas2024

The sad thing is you absolutely know he'll get another chance to be a GM.

Do we know *why* Gauthier didn't want to play for PHI?

Also, between Carlsson, Zegras, McTavish, and Gauthier, ANA is gonna have a lethal F group in a few years.

Based on talent it is a fair trade. However there are some underlying issues that affect the trade.
Drysdale- What are the lingering affects of the injury as before it he was very in your face but since returning not so much. If it is psychological then Torts is the wrong coach for him.
Gauthier- Was the problem in Philly money and if so how does the situation improve with the Ducks tough negotiating approach to contracts.
It will be very interesting watching this trade as it ages.

Verbeek strikes again

Torts has actually done decent with the Flyers, also it seems that Torts wasn't the deal-breaker, lot's of rumors obviously, seems to be either Gauthier lied to the Flyers and never intended to play for them or he got offended by something the Flyers did (possibly not giving him a contract yet)

I wonder if having Torts as coach is the reason he didn't want to go the Flyers. You know Torts, he's a great guy when the team exceeds expectations but once they aren't playing up the Torts expectations, it's always the players fault, especially young players.
Not sure if the Arizona connection, maybe he wanted West Coast. But I kinda like the "coziness" of the Metro division just for the travel factor.

Every reason is hearsay. Like I've heard it was because of Torts, because Kevin Hayes hexed him and/or he is a Penguins fan.

Friedman also posited that Gauthier might've interpreted the Flyers not wanting to sign him last off-season and let him play in college as a sign Philly didn't want him

always had a feeling Hayes was a witch.

Apparently at the Draft Gauthier told the Flyers he was excited to play for them some day, and even said he felt he was "flyers material". Then he changed his mind months later and told Philly he didn't want to play for them, but Philly was hesitant to announce that news in case he changed his mind again. When Gauthier completely iced the Flyers and stopped communication entirely, Philly decided to start working on a trade. Honestly I lost some respect for Gauthier, I'm all for player empowerment, but sounds like he handled this quite poorly.

I think it's actually great prospects with leverage do this. Would you work at a place that makes you miserable based on some arbitrary honor code? I don't think you would. Most prospects are fine going where they're drafted to, but if they simply don't want to be there, the leverage is an asset they can use. Also it's not like this is unheard of. Lindros and Fox pop to mind immediately.

This is like trading 2 pack of smokes for a giant poster of Rita Hayworth.

Flyers beat reporter, Charlie Oconnor, confirmed that Cutter was shopped for the 5th overall pick that turned into Reinbacher and the Flyers were planning to draft Reinbacher at 5th. Definitely quite happy they kept the pick if Cutter is already trying to be GM Cutter Gauthier before he plays a game in the league

I always laugh when there is so much hype over a prospect that hasn't even played a game in the NHL and a team trades big for him and he becomes a total bust. Example Jimmy Vesey. Yes sure some are good like Adam Fox but its still a very risky move in my opinion. Cutter Gauthier Bust watch???

could be risky for both sides. fair trade I guess

I'm not against employees of any kind leveraging their value to get what they want out of their employer.

Since when does a 19 year old who hasn't played an NHL game have any leverage? What has he earned? Nothing as of yet.

Having said that. Since my original post, there's been a note about PHI keeping him in College because his bonus money would put them over the cap. If that is true, then I can understand that leaving a sour taste in his mouth and wanting out. They essentially kept him from making a real wage because of their cap "mismanagement".

I still think that not even willing to have a discussion with PHI management is childish. As O'Neill said last night, he should have put his big boy pants on and had a conversation with Briere and Co. Who knows, they may have been able to do something to rectify the situation. But instead, he took the childish route.

Man wouldn't it be something if all the high picks that take the NCAA route did this? Fantilli forces his way out of garbage Columbus. Will Smith says no thanks to San Jose's horrible team. Come to think of it it wouldn't even have to be NCAA players, it could be anyone. Bedard says nope not going to a rebuilding team, don't like the coach or GM situations or blah blah blah and you think this is good thing for the NHL? I strongly disagree....

A soft, injured prone, defensive liability that tops out at 60 pts isn't worth that?! Damn! It's like Ducks fans are maybe ridiculous or something?!

Next you'll tell me Gibson isnt worth multiple 1sts and hasn't been a good goalie the last 5 years?

I actually like Gibson very much. With a competitive team, he was top 5 in the league. I guess getting bombarded for years affect your motivation/stats.

Hellebuck went through the same thing, but I don't need to defend him anymore, right?

Put Gibson in NJ or LA and they become big contenders IMO. I didn't mention EDM because their Dcore isn't much better than ANA...

Voted Fair for Both.
Have to wait a few years to tally the transaction w/ true NHL stats for the key pieces.

Made lemonade out of a lemon-situation...

Drysdale was #6 2 years earlier

Yeah, and tbh, Anaheim's blue line is terrible so they needed Drysdale more from a personnel standpoint. Maybe they have a plan to flip Zegras for some help on the back end? Chicago for Vlasic or one of their other young guys?