The Anaheim Ducks took part in the first blockbuster trade of the NHL season, shipping Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Cutter Gauthier. News of the trade was shocking to Ducks fans — Drysdale was a former sixth overall pick only four years ago and was seen as a major tent pole for Anaheim’s rebuild. I had him listed as one of Anaheim’s untouchable players in 2024, and he lasted all of eight days into the year.
Related: Grading Anaheim Ducks’ Shocking Trade for Cutter Gauthier
Gauthier was the fifth overall pick by the Flyers in the 2022 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-3 inch forward has 23 points in 17 games for Boston College, and he recently co-led the 2024 World Junior Championship in scoring, helping Team USA secure the gold medal. After the trade was announced, it was revealed that Gauthier was unwilling to sign in Philadelphia, necessitating a move and likely lowering the asking price enough to entice Anaheim.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek has navigated two trade deadlines since taking over the job 23 months ago, but this is his first deal that didn’t involve some kind of expiring asset. While Drysdale was a central figure in Anaheim’s rebuild, I do believe the Ducks are in better shape after making this trade. With an already loaded group on the defensive side, Verbeek was able to sell somewhat high and land the team another talented forward prospect with top-six upside.
Drysdale’s Talents Became Redundant
Anaheim’s deepest position group has been their defense. They’ve drafted well in recent years with a prospect pool including Drysdale, Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger, Tristan Luneau, Jackson LaCombe, Noah Warren, and Tyson Hinds. A trade was inevitable as this group was too large for everyone to develop into NHL players within the same franchise. While it is shocking that Drysdale was the first to get moved, it makes a good deal of sense.
Drysdale is a prototype of the modern offensive defenseman in the NHL. He’s an excellent skater and has a solid pass, and he’s sturdy despite lacking traditional size. While healthy, he’s a great top-four option for just about any team. However, his health has become a concern, with two injuries sidelining him for 103 out of Anaheim’s last 121 games over two seasons. Not to mention, the emergence of Mintyukov as a legitimate power-play quarterback lessened the team’s reliance on Drysdale. Fellow rookie Luneau also appeared to improve over each of his seven NHL games before the WJC, and Drysdale’s absence gives him a spot on the right side of the blue line.
Digging into Anaheim’s farm system, Zellweger fits a similar mold to both Drysdale and Mintyukov, further reducing the need for Drysdale’s services to drive play at 5-on-5 or as a special teams quarterback. While Zellweger and Mintyukov are left-handed, Anaheim’s right side will need some clarity. With Drysdale gone, Radko Gudas is the only right-handed defenseman under contract beyond this season. Pending free agent Ilya Lyubushkin will likely get dealt by the deadline, further exacerbating the thin right side.
Gauthier Significantly Boosts Forward Depth
The Ducks have struggled to score throughout their entire rebuild. They’ve averaged a goals-per-game rate in the bottom 10 in each of the last six seasons. While high-end picks on Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, and Leo Carlsson have looked to address these issues, the team’s forward prospect pool has been otherwise barren. The Ducks can continue to wait for Brayden Tracey and Jacob Perreault to finally make the jump to the NHL, but acquiring Gauthier is a much more proactive approach to a glaring roster issue.
With Carlsson and McTavish likely operating as the top two centers for the foreseeable future, the Ducks can utilize Zegras and Gauthier as top-six wingers along with Troy Terry. General manager Pat Verbeek specifically referenced the team’s inability to score while explaining the trade. The Ducks are 7-10-1 in games decided by one goal this year, and head coach Greg Cronin has already expressed his desire to see the team shoot more (from “Ducks Getting Healthy but Still Need to Get Their Shots,” The Orange County Register, Dec. 26, 2023). In the offensive zone, Gauthier is a shoot-first player who should see plenty of scoring opportunities off his playmaking linemates.
Verbeek Eventually Gets His Guy
Verbeek clearly knows what he likes when evaluating forward talent. While many assumed he would select Adam Fantilli with the second overall pick in the 2023 draft, he went with Carlsson. Verbeek claimed that while the decision was close, it was Carlsson’s hockey IQ and two-way play that he felt better suited the rebuilding franchise. So it shouldn’t come as a shock that Verbeek was active behind the scenes of the 2022 draft to acquire Gauthier, a similar two-way forward archetype. Verbeek settled on drafting Mintyukov tenth overall, and his development, making Drysdale expendable, ultimately helped swing the deal.
The soonest we’ll see Gauthier in a Ducks sweater will be at the conclusion of Boston College’s season, presumably in March or April. This will be preceded by a trade deadline that will likely see a handful of additional moves that will erode Bob Murray’s lingering transactions and further push the roster into Verbeek’s mold. With a bolstered forward group, a still-abundant defensive group, and a high-end pick on the way this summer, the Ducks continue to have one of the brightest futures in the NHL.
Salary cap data courtesy of CapFriendly.
