The Flyers surprisingly traded prospect Cutter Gauthier in 2024, receiving former first-round pick Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in 2025. That pick has become Jack Murtagh after the Flyers selected him on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams made the trade for separate reasons. Gauthier refused to sign with the Flyers, not even granting them the chance to speak with him on multiple occasions. Even when members of the organization tried to visit Gauthier at the World Juniors in Sweden a week before the trade, he refused. It’s uncertain what happened as Gauthier never spoke on his reasoning.
Drysdale was hampered by injuries that limited his developmental time. Anaheim also had other young defensemen in their system and could afford to move on. A change of scenery was just what he needed. It didn’t hurt that his best friend, Cam York, was on his new team either. It also won't hurt that the Flyers recently brought in Trevor Zegras as well.
So the full details of the trade are:
- Flyers receive: Jamie Drysdale, 2025 second-round pick (
- Ducks receive: Cutter Gauthier
For Gauthier, it took him some time to get adjusted to his new team. Because of his college season, he only appeared in one game toward the end of the season. It was a slow start this past year, where Gauthier was playing down in the lineup. The offense wasn't there as he didn't score a goal until his 17th game.
Gauthier began to figure things out as the season went on. He climbed back up the lineup and his offense took off. After earning some Calder votes and being named to the All-Rookie team, Gauthier's future looks brighter than it did at the beginning of the season.
Drysdale's injury woes continued after he was traded to Philadelphia. He dealt with a core muscle issue that hindered his skating, though he was dealing with that in Anaheim as well. Later, he suffered a shoulder injury from a hit against Pittsburgh. It was also a complete change in system for Drysdale. So it was going to take time to adjust.
This past season, Drysdale dealt with another injury in early November. But after he returned, it was like he was an entirely different player. The confidence was there, and he was looking more and more like the player the Flyers hoped they were getting. Now he has a chance to be a top-six player on a Flyers' defense that could only get better as time goes on. If Drysdale can stay healthy, the sky is the limit.
Murtagh will be heading to Boston University after spending two seasons with the United States National Team Development Program. One of the youngest players in the draft, Murtagh is a spark-plug kind of player who will do whatever he can to make a play on the puck. He's going to need much more time to develop at the collegiate level, but is going to a fantastic program at Boston.
The Flyers took Murtagh's teammate Carter Amico two picks prior. Amico will also be heading to Boston so the Flyers will be able to keep an eye on both of them.