Cutter Gauthier vs. Bowen Byram: A trade that would have shaken up the NHL

Marc-Olivier Cook
Cutter Gauthier vs. Bowen Byram: A trade that would have shaken up the NHL
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

Cutter Gauthier now plays for the Anaheim Ducks, and that's no coincidence.

The American had told the Flyers he didn't want to play for them because he was unhappy with how his situation was being handled in Philadelphia. He was eventually traded to Anaheim… without having played a single game for the team that drafted him in 2022.

In return, the Flyers acquired Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in 2025. But…

But that trade wouldn't have been possible if the Flyers had reached an agreement with the Colorado Avalanche.

According to Frank Seravalli (Frankly Hockey), the Flyers and the Avalanche were discussing a potential trade that would have sent Gauthier to Denver… while the Flyers, for their part, would have acquired Bowen Byram.

The trade didn't happen… and Byram was ultimately traded to Buffalo for Casey Mittelstadt (a straight-up swap).

Imagine Cutter Gauthier (a pure goal-scorer) playing alongside a player like Nathan MacKinnon… 

That trade would likely have changed a lot of things in the National Hockey League.

Maybe the Avalanche would have won another Stanley Cup… 

Maybe the Flyers would have been a little more competitive in recent years…

Maybe the Sabres wouldn't have been so dominant last season, and maybe the Canadiens wouldn't even have had to face them in the playoffs… 

And maybe today, the Ducks would still be looking for a player who knows how to score goals. 

In the end, we'll never know what impact that trade might have had on the NHL. But it's always a treat to learn the details of such a significant trade that ultimately never happened.


Quick Q&A

– Oh.

– Stay tuned.

– Each in turn.

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