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This content was machine-translated from the French version.
The precedent of Leo Carlsson is redrawing the salary scale of the Anaheim Ducks. After matching the record hostile offer of $90 million over five years submitted by the Philadelphia Flyers on July 9, the California franchise now faces a new explosive equation: the contractual demands of Cutter Gauthier, its 22-year-old top scorer.
On paper, the forward is a restricted free agent. In reality, his claims could shake the California salary cap. Former NHL defenseman Keith Yandle delivered a bombshell on the Spittin' Chiclets show on July 14: Gauthier would not accept a cent less than the $18 million annual salary Carlsson pockets. A stance that, if confirmed, would place Anaheim in an unprecedented budgetary situation with two young players under the same stratospheric salary roof.
Former NHL defenseman Keith Yandle delivered a bombshell on the Spittin' Chiclets show on July 14: Gauthier would not accept a cent less than the $18 million annual salary Carlsson pockets.
A season that changes everything
Gauthier is not coming out of nowhere. Recruited from Philadelphia during the 2023-2024 season in a blockbuster trade, he has established himself as the Ducks' offensive reference with a 41-goal campaign, the team's best total. In 148 games with Anaheim, he has 113 points. A linear progression that, at 22, places him among the most sought-after young forwards in the league.
The $18 million figure may seem dizzying. It is. But it fits the logic of a market shaken by the Flyers' hostile offer to Carlsson. Philadelphia, in search of an impact center after a disappointing season, targeted the 21-year-old Swede with a proposal that general manager Daniel Brière hoped would be toxic enough to deter Anaheim from matching. A failed bet: Pat Verbeek matched the offer in less than 48 hours, keeping Carlsson but at the cost of a suddenly compressed salary cap. In the aftermath, Carlsson sits atop the NHL salary grid. Gauthier, who rubs shoulders with him daily in the locker room and on the ice, logically believes his offensive output, 41 goals versus 28 for Carlsson, justifies salary parity.
Two readings of the same file
Not all observers are convinced that the $18 million bar is realistic. David Pagnotta, a journalist for The Fourth Period, instead values Gauthier at around $15 million annually. An estimate more in line with market comparables, but still considerable for a team whose owner, Henry Samueli, has never hidden his desire to control the payroll. Several league executives, speaking on condition of anonymity, believe Yandle's comments are more of a negotiating stance than a firm demand, a trial balloon launched by the Gauthier camp through a compliant microphone.
The Ducks' management finds itself against a financial wall. With Carlsson already locked in at $18 million, adding Gauthier at the same rate would consume $36 million annually for just two forwards, nearly 40% of the salary cap. In a sport where a roster has 23 active players, such concentration would make building competitive depth impossible in the long term.
What options for Anaheim?
Verbeek has several levers. A bridge contract of two or three years, around $12 to $14 million, would push the deadline while rewarding the player's exceptional season. A long-term signing around $15 million, as Pagnotta suggests, would be a plausible compromise that would still substantially double Gauthier's previous salary. A trade remains a theoretical option if positions harden, although losing a 41-goal scorer at 22 is a scenario no one in Anaheim wants to seriously consider.
The ball is in the player's agent's court. The Carlsson precedent has created a ratchet effect that Gauthier intends to exploit, and time is on his side: every week that passes without an agreement fuels speculation and strengthens his position. The upcoming negotiation could permanently redefine the franchise's salary structure, and by extension, that of an entire generation of young NHL stars.