Cutter Gauthier just put Joel Quenneville's Ducks in a tougher spot after a reported contract stance changed the heat around Anaheim's summer.
The story started with Leo Carlsson, whose reported offer sheet from the Flyers created the kind of front-office mess Anaheim didn't need.
According to Keith Yandle on the latest Spittin Chiclets episode, the report is that Carlsson signed a 5-year deal carrying an $18 million average annual value.
That's where this gets even more tense for the Ducks.
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Yandle said Gauthier now does not want to take a contract below Carlsson's new number, a position that would hand Anaheim another massive negotiation right away.
It hasn't been officially confirmed, but the reporting still lands hard because the stakes are obvious for Pat Verbeek and the Ducks' long-term cap picture.
Anaheim's leverage just got thinner
From a pure production angle, Gauthier has a clean argument to bring to the table after a bigger offensive season than Carlsson.
Gauthier scored 41 goals, while Carlsson finished with 29. That gap alone changes the tone when a young winger starts asking to be paid like a franchise pillar.
He also posted 69 points, edging Carlsson's 67, which gives his camp another simple talking point in any back-and-forth over value.
That doesn't mean Anaheim has to cave. Gauthier is still a restricted free agent, and that usually leaves management with more control than the player side wants to admit.
Still, this isn't just a cold contract file anymore. It's a pressure test on the Ducks' roster build, their internal salary structure, and how much they believe Gauthier should drive the top six.
The timing is what makes it sting. One aggressive move involving Carlsson now threatens to ripple straight through another core negotiation.
And from Anaheim's side, that's the nightmare. If Carlsson's number becomes the locker room marker, the Ducks risk paying twice for one summer of chaos.
Verbeek now has to prove he can regain control of the board before this turns from one difficult contract into a franchise-wide cap squeeze.
Should the Ducks refuse to give Cutter Gauthier a deal above Leo Carlsson's reported number?
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