Flyers' John Tortorella on Cutter Gauthier Revenge Game, 'I Don't Give a S---'

Over the course of John Tortorella's storied NHL coaching career, it's rare there's a dull moment with the press.

Tortorella delivered another doozy on Friday after being asked about facing the Philadelphia Flyers' former draft pick Cutter Gauthier in Saturday afternoon's date with the Anaheim Ducks.

The Flyers head coach was prompted on his reaction to Gauthier having the game "circled" on his calendar.

"I don't give a s--- what he says. I'm not interested in answering any questions about Cutter Gauthier. I don't wish anything bad on the kid, I'm not going to answer any questions on it."

It's been almost a year since the former No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft was shipped to Anaheim after requesting a trade from Philadelphia before having ever stepped on NHL ice. In return, the Flyers received defenseman Jamie Drysdale, who was the No. 6 overall pick in 2020, along with a second-round selection in 2025.

Friday's remark was the second time Tortorella has given push back when asked about Gauthier post departure from Phildelphia.

"I don't know Cutter from a hole in the wall," Tortorella said last season. "I'm not too interested in talking about him. I'd rather talk about Jamie; he's [the] guy that's coming here.

VANCOUVER, CANADA - OCTOBER 11: Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella looks on during the first period of their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on October 11, 2024 in Vancouver, British...

The trade sparked waves of speculation across the league, and it especially fueled resentment in the Flyer fan community.

When the Flyers initially drafted Gauthier, he expressed interest in wanting to play in Philadelphia. While Gauthier was playing his final season for Boston College last year, he changed his mind, telling the team he didn't want to play for them anymore and ghosted the Flyers organization during the World Juniors tournament.

The Flyers front office attempted to connect with Gauthier during the tournament, but had trouble in their attempts to meet with him.

"It was a long time coming," Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said last January following the trade. "It's been going on for a while. We tried to give him space. We tried to get in touch with him many times; they would not communicate as far as the Gauthier side. So, at some point we had to make a decision and we thought with what happened just a few days ago (leading scorer at WJC), this was our time to probably get the highest value."

The reasons for Gauthier's change of heart with the Flyers are undisclosed as the 20-year-old labeled it as a "personal matter" after the trade went through.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman had initially reported that the Flyers' failure to sign him at in 2022-23 was potentially the genesis of the severed relationship.

Throughout 33 games with the Ducks this season, Gauthier owns four goals and 14 points with a minus-3 rating.

"The confidence has definitely been growing these last eight games, and just the ability to make plays and use my speed in transition, I feel like, has adapted a lot," Gauthier said on Friday. "Definitely feeling a lot better on the ice when I'm skating through the neutral zone."

Drysdale is minus-13 on the Flyers' third defensive pairing. He's averaging 20:07 per game.

"It's been a lot of anticipation leading up to the game, so I'm ready to go out there and play my game," said Gauthier.

If it weren't for the drama, this game wouldn't be circled on anyone's calendar. The Flyers enter Saturday in sixth place of the Metropolitan Division while Anaheim is second-to-last of the Pacific Division.

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