In one corner, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale downplayed the significance of playing in his former home rink for the first time since he was traded, along with a 2025 second-round pick, from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for young forward Cutter Gauthier on Jan. 9, 2024.
“You play so many games here in a home atmosphere. It’s definitely different (being a visitor),” Drysdale said on Friday afternoon after practicing at Honda Center. “In saying that, it has been a year, so I’ve gotten used to the other side of it.”
In the other corner, there’s Gauthier, who has a contrasting perspective on Saturday’s meeting with the team that made him the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 draft, only to see him decline to sign with them and essentially force the Flyers to deal him.
“Obviously, with all that happened, it’s definitely been a game circled on my calendar and I’m super excited to play,” Gauthier said. “It’s been a lot of anticipation leading up to the game. I’m ready to go out there and play my game.”
Gauthier suggested there’s extra motivation for him, considering some of the comments made by Flyers brass in the aftermath of the deal.
“Since the day I got traded and seeing everything that was said … since then, I just wanted to speed up time to play it sooner than I could,” he said.
Flyers coach John Tortorella had no time for the narrative.
“I don’t give a s— what he says,” Tortorella said on Friday. “I’m not interested in answering any questions about Cutter Gauthier. I don’t wish anything bad on the kid. I’m not going to answer any questions on it.”
The trade was rare in that two teams swapped talented, yet still unproven young prospects. Drysdale and Gauthier will forever be linked and, consequently, compared to one another for at least as long as they both remain with their respective new organizations.
Gauthier’s first game in Philadelphia on Jan. 11 will likely be the more memorable of the two meetings this season, in front of Philly fans that will be sure to voice their displeasure. In the meantime, let’s take a look back at the deal, almost one year later, and how it seems to be faring for the two players involved.
What the Ducks envisioned from Gauthier
The Ducks seized on the rare opportunity to add a top-five draft pick and high-end young talent without drafting him. Gauthier brought the profile of a player they didn’t have in the organization at that time — a power forward with great skating ability who had a shooting mindset and could beat goalies from distance.
While Gauthier played center at Boston College, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek viewed the 20-year-old as a wing from the start and imagined putting him alongside Leo Carlsson. That was the case in Gauthier’s NHL debut, which came in Anaheim’s season finale just days after he lost in the NCAA title game to Denver. It was just one game, but Gauthier and Carlsson teamed on a Jackson LaCombe goal, making for a successful debut for Gauthier in his 15 1/2 minutes of ice time.
That reinforced for the Ducks that a Gauthier-Carlsson partnership would take root and power Anaheim’s top line for years, with Carlsson as the playmaker and Gauthier as the finisher — two strong skaters with size who would give the opposition fits. And with Gauthier’s ability to hit the one-time shot, the Ducks could imagine adding him to a power play that had Frank Vatrano, Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish as triggermen.
In 2020, Anaheim drafted Drysdale after Ottawa took defenseman Jake Sanderson. A wonderful skater who can move the puck and transport it, Drysdale showed promise in his first two seasons. Durability questions popped up after a 2022 shoulder surgery and then a lower-body injury that he ultimately revealed was a sports hernia. Verbeek also didn’t draft Drysdale, and a deep defenseman pipeline made Drysdale expendable.
What the Flyers envisioned from Drysdale
When the Flyers realized that signing Gauthier wasn’t going to be an option, they targeted a defenseman with the potential to be at least in their top four. There was already a high-end scoring winger on the way, Matvei Michkov — whom the Flyers had no idea would arrive just a few months later — so improving the blue line was the priority. A potential power-play quarterback for the future was also a desperate need.
The Flyers had some insight on Drysdale’s personality and off-ice demeanor from former Ducks general manager Bob Murray, a senior advisor with Philadelphia. That gave them confidence that he would fit into their tight-knit dressing room, which already housed his good friend and fellow defenseman Cam York.
Still, Flyers GM Daniel Briere understood that Drysdale, still just 21 years old at the time, was going to need guidance from the coaching staff and more on-ice experience, considering how much time he missed with Anaheim before the deal. If Drysdale could finally stay healthy, and work with highly regarded coach Brad Shaw, the potential was — and still is — there for him to grow with a young Flyers core and blossom into a true difference-maker.
What has happened with Gauthier so far?
With just four goals and 10 assists in 33 games, Gauthier isn’t lighting up the NHL. That can bee seen as a bit disappointing if you judge him against the high expectations that accompanied him into his rookie season. Gauthier might not have been the leading candidate to win the Calder Trophy, but it’s fair to say that he was mentioned on some short lists. Right now, he’s more like an artist’s initial sketches — but not a fully realized painting.
Gauthier’s skill set is what got Anaheim interested in the first place, and the good thing is, he’s been in the lineup every night and is learning what it takes to succeed at the highest level. Ducks coach Greg Cronin has alternately bumped him up in the lineup and dropped him down to the fourth line for a short spell, wanting him to use his size and play a heavier, more detailed game.
Gauthier’s low goal total might be the most surprising thing, considering he led the NCAA with 38 last season. For a time, he was leading the Ducks in shots on goal and he is still leading them with 165 shot attempts. He’s bound to have better luck, as his 5.8 shooting percentage should bump up as the season continues. But he also has misfired high or wide on a lot of attempts and is seeing just how good NHL goalies are. Saying all that, Gauthier entered Friday tied for sixth in rookie scoring.
“With all that happened, I want to be my best self and play my best game,” Gauthier said. “Maximize my full potential. The more and more I do that is obviously a sign of kind of what (the Flyers) missed out on. But just what I am capable of. Not so much them but just for myself to reach my own goals.”
What has happened with Drysdale so far?
Staying healthy remains an issue. Drysdale was dealing with a sports hernia at the time of the trade, and after a hard hit in a game against Pittsburgh on Feb. 25, he missed all of March and then required offseason surgery to repair the issue. This season, Drysdale missed about a month with an upper-body injury, returning to the lineup on Dec. 8.
He remains a work in progress, as evidenced by his modest output of one goal and four assists in 23 games, coupled with too many misadventures in the defensive zone (in 47 career games with the Flyers, he’s a minus-31). Tortorella mentioned after a game on Dec. 21 that “Jamie is just starting the process” of building his game, and is “going to have to get better as we keep pushing along here, along with the other guys that have gone through it a couple years ahead of him.” The coach has been stressing the need for Drysdale to get involved in the offense, take chances and not play safe. He’s been able to do that at times, but certainly not on a consistent enough basis.
Internal competition has heated up. Emil Andrae, a young player roughly the same size and age as Drysdale and with similar attributes, impressed in a lengthy stint with the Flyers while Drysdale was recovering, and it’s difficult to envision the Flyers dressing all of Drysdale, York and Andrae on a regular basis, as it would leave them particularly small on the back end. In other words, Drysdale may have to stay healthy, while taking a few big strides over the course of the next calendar year, if he’s still going to be considered a key part of the future. This could still go a few different directions for a player who seemingly wasn’t developed properly in Anaheim, but is still just 22 years old.
(Photo of Cutter Gauthier: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
