Cutter Gauthier on trade to Anaheim Ducks: ‘It’s a personal matter’
Cutter Gauthier wouldn’t get into too many details in his first public interview since his shocking trade to the Anaheim Ducks earlier this week, calling the trade a “personal matter.”
Selected fifth overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2022, Gauthier was sent to the Ducks on Monday in a deal for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick. It came as a shock across the hockey world, just days after Gauthier had 12 points to help lead the United States to gold at the World Junior Championship.
Gauthier joined the Light the Lamp podcast hosted by Alexis Downie from the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday to address rumors from Snow the Goalie co-host Anthony SanFilippo that former Flyer Kevin Hayes had his “fingerprints all over” Gauthier’s departure.
“It’s kind of tough to talk about,” Gauthier told Downie. “I’d like to announce that it’s a personal matter between myself and my family and my agent, Kurt (Overhardt). I did see one thing going around the internet that I would like to specifically address about the rumors about Kevin Hayes, and I would like to especially say that he had zero, zero conflict with anything that had to do with the trade, and seeing that stuff is pretty ruthless from what people are saying to that, but Kevin Hayes had nothing to do with the situation at hand.”
Hayes himself denied the rumors on Tuesday, saying, “It’s 100 percent false.”
According to The Athletic, Gauthier received death threats over social media after the trade.
Gauthier is one of the top prospects in the NHL today, with the Boston College standout likely turning pro after the conclusion of his sophomore season. Gauthier previously was a product of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, where he quickly became one of the game’s most dynamic scoring threats.
So a trade of this magnitude definitely got people talking.
#Flyers engaged upwards of 18-20 teams that Cutter Gauthier would sign with over the last weeks.
GM Danny Briere and president Keith Jones both traveled to Sweden to see Gauthier at #WorldJuniors to try and attempt to get everything back on rails, before pulling trigger today.
“We were hoping that at some point (Gauthier) would change his mind,” Flyers GM Daniel Briere said following the trade. “He had already changed his mind. He looked at us at the draft and told us he was built to be a Flyer, wanted to be a Flyer, and then a few maybe months later told us that he didn’t want to be a Flyer, didn’t want to play for the Flyers.
“When we realized that they refuse to talk to us now, it’s been months, he didn’t want to be a Flyer, didn’t want to be in Philadelphia, it was time to make it happen.”