One of the best young wingers in the game turned down a big contract, meaning his time with the Anaheim Ducks may be coming to an end.
Cutter Gauthier, the 22-year-old superstar winger, is looking more and more likely to not be a Duck soon.
The Ducks may be losing one of their young superstars
Gauthier scored 41 goals and added 28 assists in a breakout 2025-26 season. Gauthier was the 5th overall selection of the 2022 draft, and has become one of the best goal scorers the Ducks have.
The Ducks already had to give Leo Carlsson a massive contract, and now, if they seek to keep Gauthier, they'll have to do the same thing for him.
According to NHL Network's Paul Sheehan, Gauthier turned down a four-year, $13M AAV extension. This isn't the biggest surprise in the world, but the Ducks are probably surprised by Gauthier demanding so much. The 22-year-old put up amazing numbers, at least in terms of goals, but he only scored 69 points.
In other words, the Ducks might find Gauthier a little unreasonable. Even with that being said, though, it's undeniable that they don't want to lose a player whose ceiling is incredibly high. For Utah Mammoth fans, this can't help but remind us that we have an amazing contract with Dylan Guenther, who is equally as a good and 23.
Guenther is being paid just 7.14 million per year. Gauthier is literally demanding double that money, it seems. Plus, Guenther has a contract that will last for another seven years, which is awesome for Utah. Utah also signed Logan Cooley to a nice 8-year, $10M AAV deal. This means that the Ducks could be paying their young center and winger a combined well over 33 million per year, while Utah is paying a combined $17M per year, which is... Pretty insane.
That also raises the question of whether the Ducks will keep Gauthier in Anaheim. That question will remain among the most interesting until both sides make a decision.
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