With the 2025 NHL Draft now in the books, the Cutter Gauthier trade is now complete with the Philadelphia Flyers replacing their former top forward prospect outright.
The Flyers traded Gauthier, 21, to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick back on Jan. 8, 2024. And that second-round pick yielded the Flyers a pretty good player.
With the 40th overall pick in the NHL Draft, the Flyers drafted USNTDP winger Jack Murtagh, effectively replacing the departed Gauthier with a player widely considered to be a first-round talent.
Something to consider: in Gauthier's draft year EliteProspects profile, he was graded a 5/9 skater, a 6.5/9 shooter, a 5.5/9 passer, a 5.5/9 stickhandler, a 6/9 in hockey IQ, and a 6/9 in physicality.
This year, Murtagh was considered a 6/9 skater, a 6.5/9 shooter, a 5.5/9 passer, a 5/9 stickhandler, a 5.5/9 in hockey IQ, and a 6/9 in physicality.
Pretty similar players, no?
Murtagh is two inches shorter than the 6-foot-3 Gauthier, but he's an aggressive ankle-biter whose shot is his biggest weapon. Neither guy is the type to skill through and around people, and they each have developing playmaking elements to their games.
Now, Gauthier went in the top-5 for a reason – mostly size and perceived positional flexibility – but Murtagh has the potential to be just as good in the right situation.
The new Flyers prospect could find a home in the top-six one day as a support winger and catch-and-shoot option for playmakers like Trevor Zegras and Jett Luchanko.
Oh, and I hear Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone are pretty good passers of the puck, too.
Even though Drysdale was, understandably, the focus of the Gauthier trade, the Flyers have made sure they've found their physical volume shooter with that throw-in draft pick.
What the Flyers turn Drysdale and Murtagh into is ultimately up to them, but they can thank Gauthier for this opportunity.
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