Don’t sleep on Cutter Gauthier and the Anaheim Ducks!
As I’ve tried to warn you in this column, the 22-year-old has emerged as the NHL’s hottest goal scorer and helped pull the Ducks back into contention for a division title.
Gauthier delivered again last night with two goals as the Ducks beat the New York Islanders 5-1 on home ice.
The 22-year-old Gauthier hit the 30-goal milestone for the first time in his NHL career, joining Paul Kariya and Bobby Ryan as the third player in franchise history to hit that mark before they turned 23.
Since February 1st, Gauthier leads the entire NHL with eight goals in seven games – one more than Leon Draisaitl and Matt Boldy over that span.
Boldy, Nathan MacKinnon, and Timo Meier are the only skaters that have fired more shots on goal in that span.
How important has Gauthier been to Anaheim’s success?
The Ducks have gone 6-1-0 in their last seven games to climb one point back of the Vegas Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific Division with one game in hand.
Gauthier’s eight goals are one fewer than the rest of Anaheim’s top six forwards have combined to score in those seven games.
How important has Gauthier been to my success?
If you tailed the FanDuel Best Bets I gave out on GamePlay on TSN1050, then you cashed Gauthier anytime goal and over 3.5 shots on goal with me.
FADE THE CANUCKS ‼️🏒
Hurricanes -1.5 -120 💰
Jarvis/Hurricanes SGPs 💰
Devils ML -118 💰
Gauthier anytime goal +155 💰
Gauthier over 3.5 shots -138 💰
Vancouver has lost 7 in a row and is 1-5 on the puck line last 6. Another massive night as my NHL best bets went 5-1. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DQ2vqCyuiV
— Domenic Padula (@Domenic_Padula) March 5, 2026
Can the 2022 first round pick keep up his current pace?
Regression seems inevitable at this point, but the Ducks should benefit from the second-easiest remaining strength of schedule as they continue to chase Vegas atop the Pacific Division standings.
Next up, Anaheim will host the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night.
While they’re on pace to make the playoffs, the Habs rank 24th in the NHL with an average of 3.27 goals allowed per game and just got shelled for seven in a loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
All eyes are on Montreal as we wait to see if general manager Kent Hughes can upgrade his roster ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline.
Speaking of the deadline, FanDuel has set up a novelty market for the total number of trades that will be made on NHL trade deadline day.
With less than 24 hours to go until TradeCentre on TSN is on the air, the over/under is set at 18.5.
For the sake of James Duthie and the rest of the NHL Insiders preparing for a full day of coverage, let’s hope the total number of trades goes way over that number.
I’ll make a case for over 18.5 deals on NHL trade deadline day in this Morning Coffee for Thursday March 5th, 2026.
How Many Deals Will Be Made On NHL Trade Deadline Day?
Growing up in Canada meant that TradeCentre was an annual holiday on my calendar.
From skipping class to watch the chaos unfold to making the necessary arrangements for my wife to take care of the pick-up and drop off at our kids’ school, there’s nothing else quite like locking in for a full day of TSN’s NHL trade deadline coverage.
How many deals will get done this time around?
If recent history is any indication, we can lock in 15+ as the floor for the number of deadline day trades.
There’s been 15 or more deals in 24 of the last 24 NHL trade deadline days.
There’s been 20 or more trades completed in six of the last seven years.
In 2025, there were 24 total trades involving 47 players.
Of course, we’ve already seen some significant moves made ahead of March 6th.
The Minnesota Wild hit a home run with the acquisition of Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks.
The Wild also sent a 2028 second round pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Michael McCarron.
Meanwhile, the Canucks sent Tyler Myers to the Dallas Stars in another trade on Wednesday.
Details: Tyler Myers to Dallas for a 2nd Rd pick in ’27 and a 4th RD pick in ’29.
Plus Vancouver is retaining 50 percent on remainder of Myers contract which makes him a $1.5-million player this year and next. https://t.co/8nR6S37U4f
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 4, 2026
The Los Angeles Kings hope their trade for Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers can help spark an offence that ranks 31st in the NHL in goals scored.
The Colorado Avalanche acquired Brett Kulak from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Sam Girard and a 2028 second round pick.
The Avalanche are six points clear of Dallas for first place in the Central Division with one game in hand.
Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers completed deals with the Chicago Blackhawks to bolster their roster with the additions of Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, and Colton Dach.
With the Ducks heating up, Edmonton is now three points back of Anaheim with one more game played.
If the playoffs started today, the Oilers would face the Ducks with the series starting in California.
The streaking Buffalo Sabres added Colton Parayko in a trade with the St. Louis Blues.
The Sabres have won four in a row since the break and are now just two points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division with two more games played.
With several big names reportedly still in play, the next 12 hours will be a sweat for anybody who bet over 18.5 deal on NHL trade deadline day.
As Pierre Lebrun noted, players with no-trade clauses need time to review any potential moves before they sign off on them.
This could lead to a bigger name like Robert Thomas being moved before March 6th.
The trade deadline isn’t until tomorrow but today feels mighty important on the Robert Thomas trade watch. Because as a reminder, as per his full no-trade clause, any deal needs his blessing. As we’ve seen with other players with those clauses this past week, a player needs time…
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 5, 2026
Hopefully, if a deal does get done, it doesn’t become official until Friday.
I played over 18.5 deals on NHL trade deadline day.
Regardless of the number, I’ll be glued to the TSN TradeCentre 2026 coverage all day Friday.
That’s a lock.