The Anaheim Ducks and Cutter Gauthier have come to terms on a new 6 year, $13.5M AAV contract extension which will keep the dynamic forward on the west coast for the foreseeable future.
The deal will feature an $18.6M signing bonus, which will see Gauthier earn roughly $19.5M in year 1 of his new deal. It also brings an end to a prolonged negotiation period which had some around the league wondering if Anaheim may have misplayed the situation and could be forced to move on from their young star. Instead, he’ll now be tied to the club through the 2031-32 NHL campaign.
“We are pleased to get Cutter signed to a long-term deal and have him in camp on time,” said Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek. “He’s a major part of our young core, a pure goal-scoring talent that will continue progressing into an elite NHL player.”
“This is a very exciting day for my family and me,” said Gauthier. “I’m so pleased to be able to sign long term with the Ducks and be part of what I believe is a great future.”
The 22 year old was acquired by Anaheim from Philadelphia in exchange for blue liner Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second round pick back in January of 2024. Since then, he’s appeared in 159 games for the Ducks, tallying 114 points (61G, 53A) along the way, and appears to be a cornerstone that the club can build around for years to come.
The dynamic winger broke out in 2025-26 tallying 41 goals on the season and appears to be living up to the pedigree that made him the 5th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft class. He now joins Leo Carlsson as ducks top line players who have committed long term to the franchise.
Earlier this offseason, Verbeek came under fire for his handling of the Carlsson situation, eventually leading to an offer sheet from Philadelphia which Anaheim would match. However, that offer sheet came at a price to the tune of $18M per season, which far exceeded what many around the league assumed the centre man’s next contract would be valued at.
With Carlson and Gauthier combining to eat up over $30M in annual cap hits, the Ducks were forced to waive forward Chris Kreider in a cost saving move. Kreider would subsequently sign with the Montreal Canadiens a few days later on a 1 year deal.
While losing Kreider’s veteran leadership will sting, Anaheim retains a bevy of young NHL talent including Gauthier, Carlsson, Beckett Sennecke, and more. Their young core will also soon be joined by 2025 tenth overall pick Roger McQueen, who is likely to being the season in the AHL, but could be in line for a quick promotion if he proves he can acclimate his game to the professional level.
Anaheim officially kicks off their preseason this weekend with a Sunday afternoon tilt against the San Jose Sharks.
Photo: Sandro Halank. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.