ANAHEIM, Calif.—The Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, April 14, announced the signing of highly regarded forward prospect Cutter Gauthier to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The deal begins this season, and Gauthier is expected to make his NHL debut when Anaheim wraps up its 2023–24 campaign on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
Gauthier, 20, just completed his season with Boston College, which fell 2–0 to Denver in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament championship game in St. Paul, Minn. Gauthier finished the season with an NCAA-best 38 goals, the most by a college player since 1999–00.
“We are excited to sign Cutter and have him begin his NHL career with the Ducks immediately,” Anaheim General Manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement. “He was the top goal-scorer in college hockey and has the dynamic ability to produce in all situations. We look forward to having him join our group of top young players already in the NHL.”
After being selected fifth overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022 NHL Draft, Gauthier was traded to the Ducks on Jan. 8 for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick. It soon came out that Gauthier had told the Flyers he did not want to play for the organization, basically forcing Philadelphia’s hand.
Anaheim is 26–50–5 this season, wrapping up a sixth consecutive campaign nowhere near qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Ducks’ 57 points are the third-fewest in the NHL, one season after the club finished last in the league’s overall standings.
