“Private issue between the player and his family” at the center of Cutter Gauthier saga!

On Monday, the Philadelphia Flyers traded forward Cutter Gauthier to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round selection in the 2025 NHL draft. Many theories have surfaced on why Gauthier wanted out, and Pierre LeBrun decided to reach out to his agent Kurt Overhardt to ask why his client bailed on Philadelphia, forcing a trade to the Ducks. This is what LeBrun reported on last night’s edition of Insider Trading on TSN when Overhardt got back to him:

“I reached out to Cutter Gauthier’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, earlier on Tuesday and I asked him that very question and here’s what he was ready to say. He said, quote:

‘It’s a private issue between the player and his family. We definitely had conversations with Philadelphia, very respectable conversations with Philadelphia about it. We’ve chosen just to take the high road and leave all that information private.’

“And Overhardt went on to say that, you know, he’s happy, that it’s a good trade for both teams and that everyone can move on. I guess. Although, I can tell you also that in talking to Flyers GM, Daniel Briere, on this day, that even after the trade was done, Daniel Briere and the Flyers still do not have an answer as to why Cutter Gauthier didn’t want to sign, didn’t want to speak with them in the final few months. The other thing, too, is there’s been speculation that maybe [Flyers head coach] John Tortorella, for whatever reason, is the reason that maybe he didn’t want to play for him. I asked Kurt Overhardt that and Overhardt vehemently denied that Tortorella had any bearing on this decision, but again said it’s a private matter.”

So many hypotheses have been alluded to since Gauthier was traded that this explanation from his agent Overhardt can be added to the list. However, in the end, I guess we have to come to terms with the fact that we will never truly know what took place and why Gauthier was moved to Anaheim.

Some fans believe the Pittsburgh Penguins fan didn’t want to play for the rival Flyers, while other think (like me) that this hypothesis is ridiculous. It could come down to personal choices or even a miscommunication in the contract dealings, citing a team bonus overage salary cap issue, as it was previously reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Tuesday.

When it comes to that “private issue between the player and his family”, it feels like we’ll never truly know what this is about, only now that Gauthier is a Duck and that the Flyers got a satisfactory return in the transaction.

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