Philadelphia Flyers Trade Cutter Gauthier: What the Actual Hell Happened?

Let's get into the news because there was a lot of news. Normally around All-Star Break, things calm down and not much happens. Then the Philadelphia Flyers said, "Let me cook." 

A first-round prospect was traded away before playing a single game of NHL hockey. A public spat between the Philadelphia media and Paul Bissonette. Kevin Hayes somehow getting dragged into this mess with fans sending him death threats and making remarks about his late brother's passing. It has everyone in the NHL hockey Twitter-verse asking, "What the actual hell happened?" Let's recap, quickly. 

Elliotte Friedman reported on Monday night - literally minutes before the college football national championship game was going to kick off - that the Flyers were trading Cutter Gauthier to the Ducks for Jamie Drysdale, a first and second-round pick in the upcoming NHL draft. Keith Jones then went on the Flyers' RSN broadcast, trying to explain the motivation behind trading him. Jones said it was because Gauthier made it clear following USA's gold medal win at the IIHF World Junior's he wouldn't play for Philadelphia, nor would he even meet with team executives watching the game in Sweden. It led to GM Danny Briere packaging him for Drysdale and picks. 

Immediately, the toxicity began. "F––K CUTTER GAUTHIER ALL MY HOMIES HATE CUTTER GAUTHIER!" someone angrily tweeted. On and on it went, right up until the natty kicked off. 

People (well, Flyers fans) began trashing him online, saying how he should be "honored" to play for the Flyers. Accusing him of being a traitorous man. Saying things like "You don't wanna be a Flyer, well you're not gonna be one!" Right, because that's actually what he wanted. It has the Flyers brass reeling and the media having a field day and brings up the question of player power in the NHL. 

Why would Gauthier do this? Excellent question.

Rumor has it that Gauthier, who is a self-reported Penguins fan, was told by former Flyers players before the 2022 NHL Draft about the state of the team. On a golf outing that included Gauthier and Kevin Hayes, the two shared stories about playing in the Show and being both Boston College hockey players probably bonded over their shared experience at one of the top hockey colleges in the US.

Then on the Snow the Goalie podcast hosts Anthony SanFilippo and Chris Therien claimed Hayes essentially sabotaged the Flyers by telling Gauthier to get out after Hayes was traded to the Blues before the start of the 23-24 season. Hayes vehemently denied that and was obviously furious about the implication that he was the reason why the 2022 5th overall pick told Philly to kick rocks. 

Then on Puck Soup, Ryan Lambert went over rumors saying Gauthier had no interest in going to Flyers development camp in the summer. Following a 2022-23 season where he played a full college season, a World Junior tournament, and played at the IIHF World Championship in the summer, he wanted to chill after a full season of hockey before heading back to BC. The Flyers were somewhat irritated by that, yet let him have his way. 

Now, it's important to remember Gauthier is not the first generational prospect to ask out of a team before playing an NHL game. Adam Fox did this to force his trade to the Rangers, and Blake Wheeler (who is now teammates with Fox) did the same in 2004. Jimmy Vesey did something similar to get out of his Nashville Predators contract before signing with the Rangers in 2016. Why are all these examples of Rangers players? 

Of course, Philly shouldn't be surprised. Eric Lindros tried to do the same thing to avoid being selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1991 draft. But this is an unprecedented move by an NHL prospect. Especially one coming off a WJC that saw him put up 2 goals, 10 assists (12 points), and win a gold medal. Not to mention, the Flyers are undergoing a massive organizational reset with Keith Jones and Danny Briere at the helm. But what makes it really wild is that the package included two early-round picks and one of the most-hyped young defensemen in Jamie Drysdale. 

Anaheim, formerly known as the Mickey Mouse Ice Hockey Club (I made that up), is lurking in the back marveling at how they now have four generational young forwards to build around. But it's even weirder why they chose to give up Drysdale, who isn't having the best time in the Show but was still considered one of the building blocks of the new Ducks. It seems like both teams win in this deal but the fallout is freakin' massive. 

Now, I haven't mentioned what should be the obvious reason why a young, talented forward didn't want to play in Philly these days, but nobody knows if it is the real reason. 

John Tortorella. 

Torts, the human volcano he is, would absolutely despise this sort of attitude in his players. Remember, this is the same man who went on ESPN and said Trevor Zegras was wrong to do his Michigan goals and passes, and probably supported the idea of Zegras and Troy Terry getting absolutely cheap-shotted by Jay Beagle two seasons ago. Torts always believed in the idea of hard-nosed hockey, and stick skills are a bunch of bullshit that players should only be doing in practice or at home. 

Boomer attitude intensifies. 

When you have an offensive weapon like Gauthier, it seems like a good idea to give him a bit of leeway when it comes to generating goalscoring chances. But Torts doesn't play that way. Remember, he once benched Marian Gaborik in 2012 for not blocking shots, and two seasons ago made Patrik Laine an example of when he didn't put in a good enough defensive shift and benched him. 

These sorts of antics and player fallout with Torts behind the bench are regular occurrences. Guys like Ryan Kesler and Derek Stepan have said that you can only go so far with Torts before his abrasiveness rubs you the wrong way. Now, Gauthier hasn't implied he didn't want to play for John Tortorella and that was why he asked out in Philly. Any hockey fan who has followed this man’s career would immediately single out Torts as the reason, though. It also doesn't help that during the press conference after the trade news broke, Torts said, "I don't know Cutter from a hole in the wall." How do you not know one of your best prospects?

Where does Paul Bissonette fit into all this?

Biz, being the hockey media sensation he is, was tweeting like a workhorse, trying to figure out what actually happened. That led to him and Ryan Whitney sounding off on Anthony SanFilippo for saying Kevin Hayes is responsible for this. Then he made playful jabs at Scott Hartnell's hairstyle as the reason Gauthier asked for a trade, in which Hartnell played along, though in a very passive-aggressive, "shut the fuck up you annoying podcaster twat" manner. Only Chiclets could somehow make a tire fire burn brighter. 

And you know what the funniest part about this whole saga is? The Flyers were playing the Penguins and got smashed on home ice. The team their prospect cheers came into their building and humiliated them. Evgeni Malkin clowning them from the penalty box only adds to the misery.

At least there was something better to talk about than everyone wallowing over Connor Bedard's broken jaw. Also, I have to give the Flyers and Ducks credit for making this trade right before the college football national championship. Using the biggest sports event of the evening as a backdrop for the fallout was a fantastic move, but they failed to realize how tapped in hockey media is now.