Every Philadelphia sports team needs a good villain. For Sixers fans, there was Patrick Ewing and Larry Bird. For Eagles fans, it is pretty much anybody wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey. For Phillies fans, it was J.D. Drew. For Flyers fans, it was guys like Mark Messier, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Chris Chelios, and Phil Esposito. Now we have a new one...Cutter Gauthier.
We know the Gauthier story. He fell into the Flyers' lap in the 2022 Draft when everyone thought he might go higher. He was an outstanding collegiate prospect. Then he demanded a trade out of the organization. He was flipped to Anaheim for Jamie Drysdale, an oft-injured former first-rounder, and a second-round pick.
"It's definitely been a game circled on my calendar and I'm super excited to play."
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) December 27, 2024
🎥Cutter Gauthier on tomorrow's game vs. Philly.#FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/Wp91UiyHJ7
Why did he want off the team? Who knows? He's never come out and fully said it, outside of the fact that he didn't think it was a "good fit for him". However, he did even wonder, after being drafted, if Philly would like the fact that he grew up a Penguins fan. Some speculate it was due to having John Tortorella as coach of the team and others blamed Kevin Hayes for "poisoning him" by talking smack about the club. He's denied all of that. Tortorella especially put the clamp down on the Hayes conspiracy theories.
Whatever the reasons are, Gauthier, admirably, kept them to himself. Likewise, GM Daniel Briere has also been tight-lipped. Everyone has wanted to move on. When asked by reporters about Gauthier having the game against the Flyers circled, Tortorella wasn't exactly interested in talking about him.
John Tortorella, when told Cutter Gauthier had tomorrow's game circled on the calendar:
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) December 27, 2024
“I don’t give a shit what he says. 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.”
Now, you can take that a bunch of ways. Maybe Tortorella is just tired of being asked questions about it. Perhaps he wants his team to focus on the whole Anaheim team and playing well and not one kid that is, let's be honest, yesterday's news. It could be that Tortorella doesn't want to add fuel to the fire and give Gauthier and the Ducks more of an inspiration to play well. It might also be the fact that, despite his reputation, Tortorella has more class than we give him credit for.
Either way, there's a chance the boo-birds will come out with how well Flyers fans can travel. It might not be the same as it will be in Philadelphia, though. I've said it before, I was at the aforementioned Drew's return to Philly (the battery game) and it was electric. I can imagine the Flyers faithful, who are rowdy, to begin with, to make today's game a whole lot of fun. Whatever Gauthier's reason for not wanting to play in Philadelphia, we should leave him with the reminder that he wasn't good enough to be one of us. You have to have a sort of toughness to play here. Let him play for Anaheim where they don't care as much as Flyers' fans.
Let's also see how his almost teammates fair off with him. Could someone want to slam him against the boards? This could be a good time to introduce him to Garnet Hathaway. I'd love to hear the chirps that Travis Konecny could say to him.
He said he's excited to play against Philadelphia. That means the Flyers, and their fans, have been living rent-free in his head. Who knows, maybe a small part of him might wish he could reconsider that demand. But then again, maybe he knew he could never handle the pressure of being a big star in a hockey-crazy town with the greatest, most passionate fans in the league and wanted out before he collapsed under that weight. If you're in Anaheim, time to give him a warm welcome.