“Cutter Gauthier won’t accept a dollar less than Leo Carlsson”

Félix Forget
“Cutter Gauthier won’t accept a dollar less than Leo Carlsson”
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

Last week, the Anaheim Ducks decided to match the hostile offer signed by Leo Carlsson. As a reminder, the young center had initially signed a five-year, $90 million deal with the Flyers, but the Ducks decided to keep him despite the hefty price tag.

They will therefore pay him $18 million per year… and the vast majority of that money will come in the form of (hefty) annual signing bonuses.

And now that Carlsson is back, the team must turn its attention to Cutter Gauthier. He, too, needs a contract for the 2026–27 season… and even though he can't sign a hostile offer, his season of 41 goals and 69 points gives him leverage to negotiate his salary.

But what's even more interesting is that in today's episode of Spittin' Chiclets, Keith Yandle mentions a very interesting piece of information at the 43-minute mark: according to what he's heard, Gauthier won't accept “a single dollar less” than Carlsson.

Pat Verbeek must be tearing his hair out right now.

Note that Yandle doesn't specify whether he's referring to the annual salary ($18M per year) or the total value of the contract ($90M). But given that Gauthier can't sign a hostile offer, it's doubtful that he'll actually receive $18M per year.

The total value of $90 million, however, seems more realistic. Perhaps spreading it out over six years ($15 million per year) would be a more viable option.

That said, Gauthier still has some leverage in that he could decide to go on strike if he doesn't get the contract he wants. And we're talking about a player who, in the past, refused to sign with the Flyers even though they had drafted him fifth overall: he's capable of using the tools at his disposal to gain leverage.

Keep in mind that right now, the Ducks have about $9 million in cap space. It's already expected that the team will trade Alex Killorn or Chris Kreider to sign Gauthier, but if Gauthier really wants that kind of money, perhaps both will have to be sacrificed.

And Beckett Sennecke, who will need a new contract in a year, could very well cause the Ducks even more headaches if Gauthier also signs for a hefty sum.


In Brief

– World Cup: Spain advances to the final.

– Meh.

– Oh, really?

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