Cutter Gauthier is about to become one of the hardest contracts in hockey for the Anaheim Ducks to figure out.
The Hockey News raised the question this week, and the timing lines up right after two other massive extensions.
Leo Carlsson just landed a five-year, $90 million deal in Anaheim, while Connor Bedard signed for five years at $15 million a season in Chicago.
Gauthier's own case might be even tougher to price. He is coming off a 41-goal, 69-point season at just 21 years old.
Only ten other players in the salary cap era have scored 41 goals that young, a list that includes Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Macklin Celebrini.
Keith Yandle said on Spittin' Chiclets that he has heard Gauthier will not take less than the $18 million AAV Carlsson got through his offer sheet.
Anaheim only has a bit more than $9 million in cap space right now, meaning a number that high would likely force out at least one veteran contract.
A trade becomes the last resort if talks stall
A max-term deal, up to eight years under current rules, would lock in the bulk of Gauthier's twenties and give Anaheim cost certainty either way.
A shorter bridge deal is the other real option, something in the range of two or three years at a lower number like $8 to $10 million.
That path lets Gauthier bet on himself. His shooting percentage jumped from 10.5 to 14.4 percent this past season, with his shot volume climbing too.
It also lets the decision land in a few years, once the cap climbs from $104 million next season toward $113.5 million the year after.
If none of that lines up, a trade becomes the real pressure valve. A team unwilling to meet Gauthier's price always has the option of moving him instead.
Nothing suggests Anaheim wants that outcome. GM Pat Verbeek has a track record as a tough negotiator.
A 22-year-old coming off a 41-goal year is exactly the kind of player a front office fights hardest to keep.
Whether this ends in a record bridge bet, a max-term deal, or something messier, Anaheim's summer is not actually finished yet.
Should Cutter Gauthier hold out for $18 million a year from Anaheim?
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