The trade of Cutter Gauthier and Jamie Drysdale between the Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks surprised everyone, but general manager Daniel Brière has long known that his prospect's marriage would never be a happy one.
With the fifth pick in the 2022 draft, the organization made a logical decision by targeting the American. The forward proved that the expectations placed on him were justified by spending an entire rookie season at Boston College, except that he saw himself elsewhere.
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Last May, after participating in the World Cup, Gauthier Brière announced that his decision was final: he would not play for the Flyers. Radio silence from the player agents despite the CEO's attempts.
“We tried to leave him alone. We tried to contact him several times. There was no communication on Gauthier's side. We had to do something and we felt like it […] that we could get the most out of it,” Brière said Monday during an impromptu news conference at the Wells Fargo Center during the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Quebecer and hockey president Keith Jones even traveled to Sweden to meet Gauthier in person a week ago during the World Junior Hockey Championships. They came across a closed door again.
“We wanted to make our point and talk to them about what we're doing here and where this organization is going. Unfortunately, we never had the opportunity,” Brière said.
Protect the young
It's been a month since talks with the Ducks began. The California team wasn't the only one to inquire about Gauthier's situation, and Brière thanked them for keeping it a secret for so long.
Now he's glad he made the most of the prospect's current value by securing Drysdale and a second-round pick. Still, the manager believed the bridges could be repaired.
“We wanted to protect the young man. It seemed like he changed his mind at some point. He looked us in the eyes during the draft and told us that he was built to be a flyer and that he wanted to be a flyer. A few months later he informed us that he no longer wanted to be a Flyer and that he no longer wanted to play for us,” he explained.
“I haven't heard many players in my career have anything bad to say about the Flyers organization. […] We are a first class organization. We do not know, why. “It could even be something else,” admitted Brière, who wore the orange uniform from 2007 to 2013.