Cutter Gauthier vs. Bowen Byram: A trade that would have shaken up the NHL

Cutter Gauthier now plays for the Anaheim Ducks, and that’s no coincidence.

The American had told the Flyers he didn’t want to play for them because he was unhappy with how his situation was being handled in Philadelphia. He was eventually traded to Anaheim… without having played a single game for the team that drafted him in 2022.

In return, the Flyers acquired Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in 2025. But…

But that trade wouldn’t have been possible if the Flyers had reached an agreement with the Colorado Avalanche.

According to Frank Seravalli (Frankly Hockey), the Flyers and the Avalanche were discussing a potential trade that would have sent Gauthier to Denver… while the Flyers, for their part, would have acquired Bowen Byram.

The trade didn’t happen… and Byram was ultimately traded to Buffalo for Casey Mittelstadt (a straight-up swap).

Imagine Cutter Gauthier (a pure goal-scorer) playing alongside a player like Nathan MacKinnon…