Today marks the one-year anniversary of the trade that sent Flyers former top-prospect Cutter Gauthier to the Anaheim Ducks for Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round draft pick.
Trade requests are one thing. Trade requests as a prospect are another. Gauthier led the way for his USNTDP teammate Rutger McGroarty to request his way out of Winnipeg.
Since today is the one-year marker of the trade, let’s look at how it worked out.
Neither player has yet to make their mark on the league. When trading young players like Drysdale and Gathier, an immediate impact is not always expected.
Jamie Drysdale
Drysdale played in parts of four seasons with Anaheim before being dealt to Philly. He played just 10 games on SoCal before getting traded in 2024, 8 games the season prior, his only full season (81 games) in 2021/22 and 24 games in 2020/21.
He accumulated 45 points as a Duck, including his career-high 32 points in that 2022/23 season.
Since being traded to Philly, the injury bug has plagued Drysdale, limiting his time on the ice.
In 53 games with the Flyers, Drysdale has three goals and nine assists.
The numbers aren’t great for an offensive-defenseman, but Drysdale is still young (22) and has plenty of room for improvement.
Cutter Gauthier
The same can be said for Gauthier. To say he had a slow start to his career is an understatement. Like most 20-year-olds playing professional sports, he needed time to adjust.
In his rookie season, Gauthier has tallied five goals and 13 assists.
While his 18 points don’t have him in the Calder race, it is by no means a poor rookie season.
He has worked his way to second-line minutes and has the potential to be a key contributor for years to come in Anaheim.
It really is hard to determine if there was a winner in this trade at this point.
The Flyers needed a young right-shot defenseman, while the Ducks needed a young winger to pair with young centers Leo Carlsson or Mason McTavish. Each team used their surplus to fill a need.
Drysdale’s injuries have limited his time on ice, which has made it hard to tell if he will be remotely close to the player he was expected to be when he went No. 6 overall in the 2020 draft.
As for Gauthier, he is playing just as a 20-year-old rookie should. He is in no way doing anything extraordinary but is contributing.
Either way, it is still way too early if all of this will matter in the near future. Both teams sit in the bottom 10 of the NHL.
The Flyers won the first meeting between the two teams 3-1 in Anaheim. Gauthier and the Ducks will travel to Philly to take on the Flyers on Saturday, January 11th, at the Wells Fargo Center.
