By Corey Pronman, Scott Wheeler and Max Bultman
It’s been a while since the NHL had a prospect-for-prospect trade of the magnitude of Monday night’s Cutter Gauthier-for-Jamie-Drysdale swap.
Both were top-six picks within the last four years, and both have maintained relatively high stock since. It was a shocker, then, when the Flyers traded Gauthier, the No. 5 pick of the 2022 draft, to the Ducks for 2020’s No. 6 overall pick, Jamie Drysdale, and a 2025 second-rounder.
What does it mean for both sides? The Athletic’s Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler weigh in on the implications, and the historical context for the deal.
Max Bultman: Obviously quite the blockbuster here. What was each of your first reactions to this deal ?
Corey Pronman: Any analysis of this trade is underlined by Gauthier’s implied trade request. Leaving asides his reasoning, I think Philly did all right considering their circumstances. One would think they lacked leverage, but everyone in the league would want Gauthier, so I think they made out well in Drysdale. I actually think Drysdale plus a second-rounder is somewhat close albeit not on the money to what Gauthier is worth. Gauthier is the better player, though, and you typically want to get the best player in any trade.
GO DEEPER
NHL trade grades: Ducks land Cutter Gauthier, Jamie Drysdale heads to Flyers
Scott Wheeler: Seeing as the Ducks tweeted the news of the trade at 7:15 p.m. ET, my first reaction was to turn to my wife and let her know that I needed to grab my laptop and that she was probably going to have to tag-team the two kids’ bedtimes solo. My second reaction was about my upcoming pool rankings, and Gauthier’s move from the No. 2 slot in Philly to the No. 1 slot in Anaheim (spoiler alert).
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Once I got past the selfish personal reactions, my gut reaction was that this was a big get for the Ducks. Gauthier is legitimately one of the best prospects in the sport and those guys don’t move often, especially when they’re 6-foot-2 potential centers who can skate and score. Drysdale is a legitimate asset, too, even after the lost season(s), but his mold isn’t nearly as uncommon.
Bultman: The Ducks now have a pool of young forwards (and forward prospects) that includes Gauthier, Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson and Trevor Zegras. Scott, you teased your farm rankings, but can you contextualize just how good that U23 forward core is for Anaheim? Any comparisons come to mind?
Wheeler: That’s a nucleus up front that is comparable to any in the league in that age bracket. The Sabres come to mind as a rival in that regard, with Zach Benson, Dylan Cozens, JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn all playing, plus others like Matthew Savoie and Jiri Kulich on the way. The Blue Jackets (with Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, Kirill Marchenko and others) fit the bill, too. But the Ducks are now in a really good spot up front, saying nothing of what they’ve got to build around on the back end, even in Drysdale’s absence with Pavel Mintyukov, Tristan Luneau and Olen Zellweger.
It’s worth noting that the second-round pick they dealt out, while valuable, is also in 2025, so they’ve still got six picks in the first three rounds of this year’s draft to add to that young core — including one pick that could be right near the top.
Three of those four forwards you listed also have size.
Bultman: The center potential now for Anaheim is really staggering. How would you handle having so many potential top centers in one organization?
Pronman: Well, for one, I’m not sure Gauthier is a center. I’m especially not sure he is in Anaheim. Unless you’re putting him on line three, I’d much prefer Carlsson or McTavish in the middle. Gauthier has always had minor hockey-sense questions in regard to whether he can be a true premium center as a pro, and I think given Anaheim’s depth chart, he’s more likely to play the wing. I feel like Zegras moving to the wing is an inevitability, too. It gives the team flexibility, though. Do you want a loaded top six? Or do you want three very good centers? Maybe Scott is higher on Gauthier than I am, but I don’t think he’s in the same conversation as Carlsson/Zegras/McTavish, at least as of now. He’s excellent, but he’s a step or two below for me.
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Wheeler: One director of scouting with an NHL club I heard from on Monday night had this to say after Flyers GM Danny Briere referred to Gauthier as a winger in his presser: “Seems to be a weird comment. I see him as a center. Maybe with the underwhelming return he got he is trying to sell him as a winger, but for me he is a center all day.”
Corey’s point about the depth there is well-made, though. Can they get maximum value out of Gauthier as an asset, when Carlsson and McTavish are better assets and centers themselves, if he’s a 3C? It’s a good problem to have, though (there’s flexibility, too, because Carlsson played wing in the SHL, so I’m sure they’ll tinker with different looks).
Bultman: Corey, the Ducks do lose a very talented young defenseman in Drysdale. My first thought was they should be able to replace him easy enough in this draft class. But is that too simplistic?
Pronman: That’s my thought, too. Pavel Mintyukov is a premium young player. Guys like Zellweger and Luneau are very good. But they need more to win in terms of defense talent. And I feel like the answer isn’t another smaller, skill-first type. There are some big two-way defenders at the top of this upcoming draft that can be massive adds for them long-term.
Bultman: OK, let’s go to the Philly side of this. Scott, what does losing Gauthier mean for the Flyers? And how do you see Drysdale helping them? It should be noted they get a ready-made NHL player in a year they are right in the playoff hunt at midseason.
Wheeler: I do wonder if the Flyers start to look a little small. Matvei Michkov, Bobby Brink, Travis Konecny, Morgan Frost up front. Drysdale and Cam York, two like-minded and built players on the backend (though Drysdale’s skating is certainly a cut above York’s, which can help compensate when you’re in that 5-foot-11/6-feet range). Even a cut below that with names like Emil Andrae and Denver Barkey. Suddenly, there are a lot of littler guys (relatively speaking) either established in that group or coming, especially with Sean Couturier on the wrong side of 30. Gauthier and Tyson Foerster were set to give them a bit of a different dimension.
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Drysdale can certainly help in the short, medium and long term though. With his mobility and head for the game, he’s going to be an impact guy if he can stay healthy. Make good on that second-rounder and there’s an outcome in which Flyers fans feel good about this all things considered, even if Gauthier becomes an important piece with the Ducks.
Bultman: Corey, what’s your read on the Flyers side of this, and how much it changes their outlook or timeline?
Pronman: I like Drysdale a lot, if healthy, and while I think there is a drop off from Gauthier to Drysdale I don’t think it’s dramatic. Despite their unexpected success this season, the Flyers’ management has been clear there is long-term building to do here. Yes, as Scott said, their core is small but they still have a lot of work to do building up that core. I see this as a minor setback. Gauthier had a better chance to be a top-six center in Philly.
I feel like the conundrum for Philly is same as it was before. What’s the path to contending? Is it bottoming out or is it patch work with a few high picks and the former core?
Bultman: Corey, last one to you. You touched on the implied trade request element of this. Obviously we do see that from time to time, but what are some of the comparisons that jump to mind, and how do you think this deal will stack up to those in time? It seems like Philly did better than, say, the Hurricanes did with Adam Fox.
Pronman: Fox made it clear he wanted to play in New York. To our knowledge, Gauthier didn’t have such a specific destination in mind. All teams would want a potential top-line forward, so Philly could operate with sufficient leverage.
(Photos of Cutter Gauthier and Jamie Drysdale: Debora Robinson / NHLI via Getty Images, Carl Sandin / Bildbyran / Sipa via AP Images)