Cutter Gauthier's next contract is forcing the Anaheim Ducks into a genuine cap crisis.
The root of it goes back to a stunning development this summer involving teammate Leo Carlsson.
The Philadelphia Flyers signed Carlsson to an offer sheet worth $18,000,000 annually over five years, and Anaheim was forced to match it.
That number alone reshaped the Ducks' entire cap picture heading into this season.
Now Elliotte Friedman says Gauthier's incoming deal is going to make things even tighter.
"With Gauthier I have heard rumors of some progress but it's gonna be a big number," Friedman said on NHL Network.
"It's gonna be a really, really big number," he added.
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Cutter Gauthier contract could force Anaheim into blockbuster trades
Friedman didn't stop there. "What Anaheim tries to do to create some cap room, they are gonna have to do some roster surgery to get this done," he said.
It's easy to see why Gauthier's camp feels confident asking big. He outproduced Carlsson on paper by a real margin last season.
Gauthier posted 41 goals and 69 points, compared to 29 goals and 67 points from Carlsson, despite Carlsson getting the bigger deal first.
Roster surgery means moving real talent off an already thin roster, and the candidates aren't hard to identify.
Chris Kreider and Alex Killorn are both entering the final year of their contracts, while Mikael Granlund has one season remaining on his.
Kreider posted 50 points last season, Killorn added 33, and Granlund chipped in 41 despite playing just 58 games.
Trading from that group means moving proven veterans off a roster that actually made the playoffs last season.
Is it fair to blame Gauthier for cashing in, or does this entire mess trace back to how Carlsson's deal got handled in the first place?
My take: this is squarely on Anaheim's front office. Letting one offer sheet blow up your cap sheet before the next big contract even lands is bad process.
Camp is close, and Anaheim now has weeks, not months, to figure out who gets moved to make room for the number everyone's bracing for.
Should Pat Verbeek take the blame for the Ducks' cap crunch?
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