"You show up to camp whether you skate or not" - Cutter Gauthier hadn't made the best first impression amongst Flyers teammates

By Vignesh Krishnan

Modified Jan 09, 2024 22:47 GMT

Former NHL first-round pick Cutter Gauthier took the hockey community by storm when it was announced on Monday that the Philadelphia Flyers were trading him to the Anaheim Ducks.

While the Flyers received defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange, it came as a shock for all to see the highly-rated prospect leave Philly without having played a game for the franchise.

While the news came as a bit of a surprise for fans, Flyers GM Danny Briere said that the trade "was a long time coming."

Gauthier reportedly wanted no part of the Philadelphia-based franchise, and even before the trade was made, he had not made an admirable first impression among his former teammates. Speaking to reporters (h/t NBC Sports), defenceman Travis Sanheim said:

"The only thing that I had heard was the development camp, and him not wanting to be there. As a player in this locker room, that was something that stayed with us."

The 27-year-old did not take kindly to Gauthier's actions and expressed his disdain about the same,

"For as long as I know, you show up to development camp whether you skate or not. If he doesn't want to be here, we're happy to move on and get the pieces that we did."

Flyers goalie Carter Hart, too, weighed in on the matter but had more to say about Gauthier:

"I've never met him (Gauthier). Obviously, I heard he's a great player or a great prospect. I wish him the best elsewhere. But I think we've got a pretty good player coming back with Drysdale. He's a young guy, I heard he's a great dude and obviously a really good player. I think he's going to be a huge addition to our back end."

The alarm bells reportedly started ringing back in May 2023, during the World Championships, when the 19-year-old informed the organization that he did not want to play for the team.

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Kevin Hayes reports receiving death threats over rumored link to Cutter Gauthier trade

St. Louis Blues center Kevin Hayes found himself amid controversy due to the rumor that suggested that the ex-Flyers player had played a major role in Cutter Gauthier's decision to leave Philadelphia.

The rumor seems to have stemmed from an article by Crossing Broad, which reported that Hayes was 'very influential' in convincing Gauthier to take the drastic step.

Hayes, however, soon cleared the air. As per a tweet by NHL reporter Matthew DeFranks, the Blues star vehemently denied the rumors while claiming that he and his family had been receiving death threats because of the same,

"I’m going to bed and waking up with death threats and people want my family dead... People that are happy that my brother’s dead. I think it’s completely insane that this guy can say something like that. I honestly heard it and started laughing."

Hayes made it clear that he had no involvement in the trade saga whatsoever and was left dismayed over the backlash he received because of the report.