Making sense of what went wrong between Cutter Gauthier and the Flyers

Quickie blog unpacking Monday's blockbuster:

The Flyers traded Cutter Gauthier to Anaheim for Jamie Drysdale in a stunner that came out of nowhere. The Flyers, who thanked teams for keeping this a secret, were furious they never got an explanation why Gauthier switched from someone who was so happy to be drafted by them to someone who wouldn’t even talk to them. There are comparisons to Eric Lindros, but it’s not the same. Lindros told Quebec not to take him, there was no such demand from Gauthier. 

I can only judge others as I judge myself, and on this issue they are right. They were owed an explanation. Anytime I’ve left an organization, I’ve let it be known exactly why.

Adam Fox made sure to do it with both Calgary and Carolina, as did Blake Wheeler (also a fifth overall selection, back in 2004) when he said no to Arizona. I completely understand why the Flyers — under new management, trying to change their organization — would want clarity. If they made a mistake, they want to know how to fix it, or make sure they don’t do it again.

Until Gauthier reveals the reason — and he may never do it — he’ll have to deal with wild speculation. For example, there are already denials the issue is he didn’t want to play for John Tortorella. But not everyone buys it.

According to several sources, whatever happened pre-dates May 11, when Keith Jones was hired and Daniel Briere officially became general manager. The last time they met face-to-face with Gauthier was on a Zoom call right after the World Championships, which concluded May 28. At that time, the Flyers were hoping Gauthier was ready to sign, only to be floored by hearing he would never do so.

Several sources believe that whatever discussions took place after March 11 — when Boston College’s 2022-23 season ended with a loss in the Hockey East quarterfinals — threw an unintentional wrench into this relationship.

The Flyers have a $1.2 million bonus overage from last season. That would have gone up an extra $212,500 if Noah Cates made the All-Rookie team. They were being careful, not wanting to risk more charges. (A few agents/execs were wondering about this, since it wouldn’t have been much money. But it was mentioned a couple of times, so I’m including it.) Since he was 19, Gauthier’s entry-level contract could slide to this season, but Philadelphia had 16 games remaining. The year could have been “burned” if Gauthier got into 10 of them, earning him a season towards his second contract.

Now, this shouldn’t make anyone think they didn’t want Gauthier. They loved him, preferring to begin his entry-level clock in 2023-24 (I have wondered if they offered to start him on an AHL tryout to finish the year). They weren’t going to guarantee anything, but if he showed what he was capable of during this year’s camp — there was definitely room on the NHL roster. 

The contract wasn’t going to be a problem. Philly spends.

I have also wondered if the end of last year was so crazy in Philadelphia, the Flyers didn’t want to bring him in.

I don’t know why, but I do believe things soured for Gauthier after this. I also believe if the Flyers had reason to believe this was that big a problem, they would have reversed course or found another way to make things work. But when Gauthier wouldn’t meet with them at the recent World Juniors, it was over. (As an aside, I did have some teams tell me it is not unusual for players to be off-limits during these events. Hockey Canada, in particular, was well-known for keeping NHL clubs at arm’s length.)

But this was a unique situation. Gauthier kept the Flyers at bay for months and the Flyers knew if it got out, their leverage would be damaged. As Jones said during Monday’s broadcast, “If you don't want to be a Flyer, you're not going to be a Flyer.”