Cutter Gauthier’s next contract could end up landing in the same neighborhood as Connor Bedard’s.
That’s the read from Chris Johnston, who pointed to the Anaheim Ducks winger’s breakout season and the way the market has shifted around young stars. Gauthier, an RFA forward, is fresh off a 40-goal year, and Johnston said that production matters a lot when you start talking about the size of the next deal.
“Well, let’s remind everyone this guy scored 40 goals this year, and he’s still a very young player. You know, that’s something that Connor Bedard hasn’t yet accomplished in the league.
Not saying certainly; I think it’s a matter of when, not if for Bedard. But Bedard signed a $15 million AAV over five years with Chicago this summer.
To me, that’s, that’s the range that I expect Gauthier to land in. I could, I could see it being a hair under 15.
I could see it being a hair over 15. But I think that, that’s roughly what you’re looking at.”
Johnston also connected Gauthier’s next payday to the bigger picture in Anaheim, where Leo Carlsson is already expected to be making upwards of $18 mill per for the foreseeable future. Put those numbers together, and the Ducks could be staring at a massive combined commitment on their next deals.
He said that pairing Gauthier and Carlsson on their next contracts could reach 33 million between them, something that would have sounded hard to believe not long ago.
“I wouldn’t have thought you’re talking about Leo Carlsson and, and Cutter Gauthier getting to 33 million between them on the next deals. I mean that even, even as recently as a couple months ago, that would have sounded crazy.”
Johnston framed the whole thing as a sign of how quickly the market has changed this summer, especially after Carlsson’s offer sheet. In his view, that deal helped reset expectations for top-end young players around the league, even at the superstar level.
“That, that changed the game for everyone, even, even the superstars.”
He added that if Cale Makar had signed before that offer sheet, the number might not have gone all the way to 20.4. But once the market started climbing, players kept pushing the ceiling higher.
“So this is it’s just, it’s kind of a cool thing for the NHL I think.”
In Other News...
Ducks Just Made A Massive Cutter Gauthier Statement
Cutter Gauthiers breakout season gave the Ducks a legitimate cornerstone to build around, and Anaheim wasted little time treating him like one. The club re-signed the restricted free-agent forward on a long-term deal after he led the team in goals and points, a strong follow-up to the trade that brought him over from Philadelphia in January 2024.
The contract also says plenty about where the organization sees him in the pecking order, since it makes him the clubs second-highest-paid player. There is a timing element to the agreement, too, with a significant chunk of the money structured in signing bonuses before the leagues new limits come into play, which only adds to the sense that the Ducks moved decisively to lock in one of their most important young pieces. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Face Growing Pressure To Get Cutter Gauthier Signed In Time
The Ducks are back in the spotlight on the contract front, and this time the focus is Cutter Gauthier, one of the most important restricted free agents on Anaheims list. With a CBA deadline looming, the club has been working to get a deal done while a few other teams around the league juggle their own pressing business, from Minnesota extending John Hynes to Detroit shifting into an interim GM setup.
For Anaheim, though, this is the kind of negotiation that can quickly become a must-watch subplot because it sits right on the edge of the leagues rules calendar. The Ducks have been trying to bridge the gap with Gauthier before time runs out, and the sides have continued talking as the pressure builds, with the specifics of the structure still carrying the weight in the talks. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Just Made A Huge Cutter Gauthier Commitment
The Ducks made their commitment to Cutter Gauthier official with a six-year extension, a deal that puts a major piece of their future squarely in place. It is the kind of move that says Anaheim is not waiting around to see what he becomes, but betting on him now as part of the core around which the roster keeps taking shape.
The timing matters, too, because the contract was finished before the new collective bargaining agreement takes effect, giving the team some flexibility in how it can be structured. Gauthier has said he is excited to sign long term with Anaheim, and the organization clearly views him as more than just another young scorer, even if the full financial and roster implications will keep being felt well beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]