NHL Trade Grades: Flyers land Jamie Drysdale in blockbuster with Ducks

In the middle of the Philadelphia Flyers' game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday Night, the Flyers announced seemingly out of nowhere that they had traded forward prospect Cutter Gauthier to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick.

This is a massive blockbuster that nobody expected to take place. Gauthier was selected fifth overall in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Flyers, and was seen as a building block to their future. Drysdale was selected sixth overall by the Ducks in the 2020 NHL Draft.

In a vacuum, this makes sense as the Flyers are a team that is surprisingly in playoff positioning while the Ducks are once again on the outside looking in. The Flyers get a player who can help now, while the Ducks get one of the top prospects in the NHL. When looking deeper into it, more factors were in play here.

NHL Trade Grades: Ducks land star forward prospect in shocking trade

The Anaheim Ducks are the big winners here, acquiring Gauthier who should fit in seamlessly with their young forward core. He was a top-five selection in the 2022 NHL Draft for a reason. The Ducks get to add this dynamic forward to a core that already includes Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, and Troy Terry.

Gauthier has not made his NHL debut yet, but has shined playing for Team USA at the World Juniors, and has played extremely well at Boston College. He has not made his NHL Debut yet, but the Ducks can wait on him with them not quite ready to compete. Gauthier coming to Anaheim next season to potentially make his debut is something for Ducks fans to get excited about.

Giving up a defenseman with potential in Drysdale hurts, but this kind of player does not become available often. The Ducks were able to land Gauthier and didn't even have to give up their first-round pick. They took advantage of a situation where the Flyers seemed to have to give up Gauthier and deserve a ton of credit for that.

Ducks Grade: A+

NHL Trade Grades: Flyers trade top prospect for young defenseman with potential

The Flyers had no interest in parting with a talent like Gauthier, but they didn't appear to have much of a choice. Gauthier had no interest in playing for the Flyers, and despite numerous attempts to speak to him, they had trouble meeting with him at the World Juniors according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

It's hard to blame the Flyers too much for trading Gauthier, and they actually did get a solid return. Jamie Drysdale has a lot of potential as an offensive defenseman, was a high draft pick, and showed some things in the 2021-22 season when he was healthy. The problem is injuries have held him back in a big way. Drysdale appeared in just eight games last season and has only played in ten games this year. That's going to have to change.

Drysdale joins a decent defense core which has Sean Walker and Rasmus Ristollainen on the right side. Which pairing he'll slot in remains to be seen, but the 21-year-old is going to be a big piece for the Flyers as they continue to build.

The Flyers lose this deal for the simple fact that they traded Gauthier, but when keeping in mind that they had to do this and were able to sell high for a nice return, they don't get such a low grade. It's a crushing blow for Flyers fans who expected Gauthier to be their franchise player in short order. Drysdale isn't that, but if he can stay healthy, he can be a top-pairing defenseman for a long time.

It would've been nice to see the Flyers get a first-round pick in return for Gauthier, but with the Ducks being one of the worst teams in the NHL, that just wouldn't be possible. Landing Drysdale and a second for a player who had no interest in being there is pretty solid business.

Flyers Grade: B+