Insider Predicts How Cutter Gauthier Stalemate Ends With Ducks

After a huge miscalculation over the past year left the Anaheim Ducks holding the $18 million bag with Leo Carlsson, their attempts to sign fellow top-liner and restricted free agent Cutter Gauthier have hit a huge bump in the road.

With Carlsson now earning $18M on his new pact, Gauthier—he of the 41 goals this past season—is looking for his cut of the pie, too. And it will have to be a huge, tasty slice. It doesn't sound like he'll settle for anything less than $15M or more on any longish-term deal. 

Insider Frank Servalli told The Fan Morning Show that the Ducks will have no choice but to lowball him. But Gauthier won't take that lightly, given what we know about his past. 

The only leverage that he has is to say, 'Look if you're not going to pay me what I'm worth, ... There's no reason for me to be here (at training camp).'

I'd imagine that, based on the way that Cutter Gauthier extricated himself from Philadelphia, and the sort of reputation that he has personality-wise, it's a hard edge that he has to him, you could see this provide some real teeth in the next couple of weeks with the Anaheim Ducks.

The Ducks, however, have $9M in cap space, so a $15M-$18M contract for Gauthier doesn't work unless and until the team is able to unload some other money. They're trying, but Seravalli has another prediction on how this will all get settled.

I do think that this is one of those situations where he doesn't have a ton of leverage, the team has to squeeze him because of the cap situation that they're in and my guess is it produces some kind of short-term deal, a two-year deal at—pick a number—north of $10M to get it done just to get him playing again.

The 22-year-old Gauthier more than doubled his scoring in his second full NHL season, potting 41 goals with 69 points in 76 games. 

The former 5th overall pick of Philadelphia in 2022, he forced his way into a trade less than two years later, while still playing at Boston College in the NCAA, as he had no interest in signing with the Flyers.