- Paul Shaheen reports the Ducks offered Cutter Gauthier four years and got turned down
- Anaheim is sitting on just over $9 million in cap space with camp a month out
- Read below for the money Gauthier and agent Kurt Overhardt walked away from
The Ducks made Cutter Gauthier a serious offer. He turned it down.
Paul Shaheen reported Sunday that Anaheim put four years at $13 million a season in front of its unsigned restricted free agent, and that Gauthier and agent Kurt Overhardt said no. That is $52 million left on the table.
Shaheen paired that with the number that makes it awkward. Anaheim has just over $9 million in cap space, per PuckPedia, so the Ducks offered a contract they cannot currently fit.
Matching Philadelphia’s offer sheet on Leo Carlsson in July is what built that wall. Five years and $90 million went on the books in one afternoon at an $18 million cap hit, and Pat Verbeek has been working around it ever since. We already ran through the three veteran contracts Anaheim could move to open up room.
Our read on where that leaves Verbeek:
Tough decisions is putting it politely. Nine million does not turn into 13 by trimming depth pieces, which means a veteran who had nothing to do with this standoff gets moved so the 22-year-old can get paid.
Gauthier has a season to point at. He led the Ducks in goals and points last year, then stayed a point per game in the playoffs, where Anaheim knocked off Edmonton in six before falling to Vegas in six.
| Cutter Gauthier | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 82 | 20 | 24 | 44 |
| 2025-26 | 76 | 41 | 28 | 69 |
| 2026 Playoffs | 12 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
Camp opens next month. Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Yaremchuk floated back in July that this one drags into October, and a rejected $52 million offer does not make that sound like a stretch.
Verbeek has about four weeks to find money he does not have.
