Carter Gauthier has been the subject of ridicule in some circles from the moment he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, with social media taking a shine to his character after the Philadelphia Flyers effectively shed their former award-winning prospect launched an attack.
Gauthier answered questions Wednesday about the shock trade in which the Flyers traded the 19-year-old Boston College standout and recent U.S. World Junior gold medalist to the Ducks for young guard Jamie Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick.
Reaction to reports of Gauthier’s recent dealings with Philadelphia (or perhaps the lack of such a deal) was so toxic that Gauthier said he received death threats via social media. Most of the questions Gauthier faces focus on one simple question: Why doesn’t he want to play for the Flyers?
“That’s the question that everyone wants to know, and the most important thing I can say right now is I have to keep it to myself, my family and my agent,” Gauthier said. “Dealing with this issue has been a long process over the past few months. I don’t think it’s a good time to discuss this issue yet. Maybe one day I will learn more about what happened. For now, I want to keep this matter private.”
During a 30-minute phone call with local reporters, Gauthier said his head was “a little dizzy” two days after the trade and stressed that he was excited to join Anaheim after the college season. He also mentioned death threats when describing the visceral reaction he received.
“There’s a lot of good and bad,” he said. “For a 19-year-old kid to receive a lot of death threats, thousands of people reaching out, and just saying some really bad things that I wouldn’t wish to happen to my worst enemy, that’s obviously hard to watch. But it’s It’s a business. With all the untrue rumors going around, it’s hard to go out and say a word or anything to quiet those people down.
“But, you know, people are going to have opinions. People are going to say things. I can’t tell them whether they have an opinion or not. Things have definitely been a little tense the last 48 hours.”
Gauthier further elaborated on the threats he’s received: “My (direct messages) and Instagram right now are kind of crazy with what people are saying. There’s thousands of messages already. I had like 5 10 minutes ago. People What is being said is a bit cruel.
“I wasn’t really trying to hurt anyone. I was just observing a situation, a pigeon-eye view from above, so to speak. I thought the decision I made was what was best for me. Obviously some people don’t Be happy about it. I’m not here to please everybody. I’m here to do what’s best for me and my future. I feel like that’s what I do. Obviously, people aren’t going to be too happy about that. Yeah, some pretty cruel things people said.”
While Gauthier understood how much interest there would be following a trade, he admitted it would be difficult for him to stay away from his phone or social messages. But it also found support amid fierce opposition.
“It’s a little tough when everything is in front of you,” he said. “You open Twitter and you see my name and every report about what’s going on, and everyone has an opinion. It’s kind of hard not to completely distance yourself from it.
“Like I said before, this is a business. People are going to say certain things, especially in the situation we’re in now. It’s hard to know the real reasons and see people putting all these false statements out there .Can’t really express what’s going on yet. It’s a little difficult, but it’s also good. There’s a group of people reaching out to me.
“In this case, you can definitely see who your circle of friends is. That’s definitely a good thing for the most part, but obviously there’s also some bad stuff coming from Flyers fans.”
Gauthier said he did go back and forth in the time since the trade about whether to fully explain the move from the Flyers’ No. 5 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft to the end of his freshman season last April. Then give them the reasons behind the deal. Eagle concluded. He chose to respect privacy.
“I’ve seen all the rumors that are being spread right now,” he said. “It’s kind of interesting what people are saying at the moment. I don’t think I’ve seen a single thing that explains exactly why this is happening. People like to talk, people like to make things up, and other people like to listen.”
Another aspect Gauthier tried to eliminate from the deal was that he didn’t want to play for Flyers head coach John Tortorella. He said his interactions with him were positive.
“All those rumors said I was afraid of copyright infringement, but that’s not the case,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of (tough) coaches in my life, and I think any coach I play for would love to have me on their team. I want to do whatever it takes to win. If they’re a tough, yelling guy Coach is called and I take it in my stride. I will never disrespect a coach or talk back to a coach. I will give my all on every shift. This is definitely not a reason why I don’t want to play in Philadelphia.
“I actually met Torts two years ago during development camp. I was very excited and excited to meet him. Obviously, as a well-known figure in the hockey and coaching industry, I have absolutely nothing against playing for him.”
While Gauthier didn’t reveal specifics about the Flyers and his dealings with them, he specifically took issue with St. Louis Blues forward Kevin Hayes for being described as someone who influenced his desire to play elsewhere. . Hayes, a former BC player who played for the Flyers from 2020-23, is something Gauthier knows well.
“I’ve seen all the rumors about Kevin Hayes putting his fingerprints on this,” Gauthier said. “I want to be clear that he had nothing to do with this. He had absolutely nothing to do with it. It was very gutless for some people to say things like that about his family. Regardless, he is There are zero fingerprints on this.
“I haven’t spoken to him in a long time. I just want to clarify. It’s not just his word against someone else’s word. I want to make sure (as everyone knows) that he had absolutely no involvement in this. He was brought into this. Disrespectful to him and his name.”
The Ducks made the trade confident that Gauthier would sign with them after his sophomore season with the Eagles, the top-ranked team in college hockey. Gauthier said that’s the plan and if the Eagles are to contend for the NCAA title, his NHL debut could still come as Anaheim plays its season-ending championship game five days later. He said he has been in contact with current Ducks forwards Troy Terry and Leo Carlson.
But the prospect of him playing his first game in Philadelphia will have to wait, as the Ducks already made their only visit in October. When asked what he expected Game 1 at Wells Fargo Center to be like, Gauthier said “chaos.”
“I circled that (future) date on my calendar,” he continued. “I can’t wait to go out there and play my game in front of the fans and do my thing. I’m really looking forward to that game.”
Must read
(Photo: Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
