Evaluating Jamie Drysdale as the Return for Cutter Gauthier

The Philadelphia Flyers acquired Jamie Drysdale and a future 2nd-round pick from the Anaheim Ducks in a blockbuster deal for Cutter Gauthier. The drama surrounding Gauthier has dominated the news, but what are the Flyers getting in Drysdale? 

The Ducks selected Drysdale with the 6th-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He is a smooth skater who can generate offense off the rush. The Flyers hope he can develop into a top-pair defenseman and a power-play quarterback as a key part of their organizational rebuild.

Drysdale spoke about his strengths as a player when he met with the Philadelphia media.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound defenseman performed well offensively in his only full NHL season in 2021-22. He scored four goals and added 28 assists in a second-pair role averaging 19:53 of ice time.

Drysdale struggled to suppress opposing offense, allowing 2.72 expected goals against (xGA) per 60 minutes of ice time. The rate ranked in the 16th percentile of NHL defensemen who played over 600 minutes for the season. The struggles are not uncommon for rookie defensemen, especially on teams without great defensive structure.

He also finished second among Anaheim defensemen in power-play ice time in 2021-22. The unit finished 14th in the NHL with a 21.9% success rate.

A torn labrum limited him to eight games in 2022-23, and Drysdale has missed most of 2023-24 with a lower-body injury. He returned to the lineup for the Ducks on Dec. 21, and Danny Briere spoke confidently about Drysdale’s health moving forward.

John Tortorella has established himself as a commanding voice within the organization during his tenure as the head coach. However, Brad Shaw has quietly done an impressive job on the staff molding the Philadelphia defensemen.

Will Drysdale become the next success project? The young defenseman’s skill set aligns with an aggressive style in transition that has guided the Flyers during the first half in 2023-24.

Challenges from Tortorella, Shaw, and the Flyers staff have pushed defensemen to improve since the beginning of the 2022-23 season. Rasmus Ristolainen has developed a much more responsible defensive game the past two seasons. Nick Seeler has gone from a fringe NHL player to a reliable lineup regular.

Sean Walker and Travis Sanheim have started 2023-24 with some of the best hockey of their respective careers. Drysdale now faces the opportunity to adapt to a new system early in his career.

The Flyers finished 32nd on the power play in 2022-23, and they’ve posted an even worse rate with the man advantage this season. Drysdale hopes to improve a unit that hasn’t finished higher than 14th in the NHL since Joe Mullen left the staff after the 2016-17 season. He’ll try to avoid a tendency for firing low-percentage shots from the point and focus more on working as a distributor.

Losing a prospect who was supposed to be a foundational piece of the rebuild sent shockwaves through the fan base. The off-ice drama will drive the narrative of the trade, and Jamie Drysdale will face constant comparisons to Cutter Gauthier throughout his Flyers career.

Danny Briere set the expectation for Drysdale as a top-pair defenseman. An inexperienced raw talent probably isn’t ready to fulfill that expectation right away. However, Tortorella pointed out that the acquisition came at the perfect time during the rebuild.

Drysdale will have the opportunity to develop into the role without immense pressure for the Flyers to make the playoffs. He also affords the Flyers the opportunity to move Sean Walker, who isn’t as good of a fit with another offensive-minded, right-handed defenseman ready to play toward the top of the lineup. 

Briere managed difficult circumstances well. He flipped Gauthier for a package that should be considered equal value and addressed a position of need. The rookie general manager spoke on 97.5 The Fanatic about how Gauthier’s value reached its height after the World Juniors and how Anaheim “upped the ante” by including the 2nd-round pick in the trade package.

The organization’s ability to keep the situation out of the public eye also reflects well on the operation of a new leadership group. They had discussed trades involving Gauthier since before the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, but the controlled approach helped the Flyers maintain their trade leverage.

Briere resolved a situation that was already in place when the new front office took shape. The Flyers now gain an immediately impactful roster piece for the current season in exchange for an NCAA prospect. Briere continues to earn the respect of the fan base with a more effective approach than they saw with the previous regime under Chuck Fletcher.

The iconic brand of the Philadelphia Flyers has developed through a storied history since Ed Snider founded the franchise in 1967.

The days of the Broad Street Bullies during the 1970s put the Flyers on the map in Philadelphia. They’ve since transitioned into different eras that have inspired the perception around the NHL of the seventh integral team to hockey tradition outside the Original Six.

Back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974-75 established the identity of the Flyers. They revolutionized the NHL with intimidation tactics that changed the game of hockey forever. The organization still considers the Broad Street Bullies the root of their DNA. It's no surprise that four players with retired numbers skated for the notorious Bullies.

Their success as one of the top teams in the NHL continued during the 1980s. They made it back to three Stanley Cup Finals in one decade, unfortunately losing all of them. The Flyers proved they could never stay out of the spotlight when they sent shockwaves through the NHL by acquiring Eric Lindros in 1992.

The era that followed kept them in the conversation as a Stanley Cup contender through the 1990s. They maintained that status into the first decade of the 2000s. They hope to revitalize that tradition in the modern era.

The Flyers have consistently kept their alumni involved to honor their accomplishments of the past. Their reputation around the league as an organization who takes care of people who’ve made contributions to the organization still proceeds them around the NHL.

Fans who look in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center see banners proudly displaying the accomplishments of the Broad Street Bullies era, multiple Patrick Division crowns, and the 2009-10 Eastern Conference Championships.

However, the Philadelphia Flyers have reserved the honor of retired numbers for only six former players.

“Only the Lord saves more than Bernie Parent.”

Countless drivers in Philadelphia during the 1970s read the iconic bumper sticker about the future Hall of Fame goaltender. Parent accumulated Hall of Fame numbers over 13 NHL seasons, 10 of which included stints with the Flyers.

The real mark of his legacy came in the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons. He won the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL after both regular seasons. His 47 wins in 1973-74 stood as a league record until 2007.

Parent won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP for each of the only two Stanley Cups in franchise history after both of his Venzina seasons. The famed Broad Street Bullies built their reputation on intimidation and grit, but they never would’ve sniffed a Stanley Cup without Bernie Parent between the pipes.

Mark Howe played six seasons in the WHA to begin his professional career and didn’t make his debut with the Flyers until age 27. However, he established himself as the indisputable best defenseman in franchise history.

He still holds franchise records for goals, assists, points, shorthanded goals, and plus/minus rating among defensemen. Most of the blueliners behind him in the major statistical categories played more games with the Flyers. Howe published a book cleverly named Gordie Howe’s Son in 2013.

Barry Ashbee began his career in Philadelphia at age 31. He played 287 regular-season and playoff games in orange and black. He finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting for the best NHL defenseman in 1973-74, when he became a key member of the first Stanley Cup team in Flyers history.

Ashbee suffered an unfortunate eye injury that ended his playing career in 1974. He joined the Flyers staff as an assistant coach but passed away from leukemia three years later.

The organization has consistently honored his legacy after the two tragic occurrences. They award the Barry Ashbee Trophy to the team’s best defenseman every season, and they retired his number shortly after his death.

Bill Barber still holds the franchise record with 420 goals decades after his retirement in 1983-84. The “LCB line” with Reggie Leach, Bobby Clarke, and Barber brought the offensive firepower the Broad Street Bullies needed to win two Stanley Cups.

The Flyers organizational lifer built his reputation with a Hall of Fame playing career, a stint as head coach, and a long tenure as a front office executive.

It’s tough to come up with a player who can define the identity of a franchise in the NHL or in all of professional sports more than Bobby Clarke defines the Flyers. He incredibly won three of four Hart Trophies as the league MVP from 1972-73 through 1975-76. Clarke wore the “C” as the heart and soul of the Broad Street Bullies during the best era in franchise history.

He has remained around the organization in various roles since his retirement in 1984.

The Flyers made arguably the biggest splash in NHL history when they acquired the rights to Eric Lindros in 1992 after some lengthy drama. He was supposed to be the next Wayne Gretzky, and his dynamic skill and intimidating power didn’t disappoint when he was on the ice. He won the Hart Trophy after the shortened 1994-95 season and helped the Flyers to an appearance in the 1997 Stanley Cup Final.

Concussions derailed the career of arguably the most talented hockey player ever to lace up the skates. He struggled to stay healthy in a stretch that infamously ended with a devastating hit from Scott Stevens in the 2000 Eastern Conference Final.

He ranks sixth in franchise history in scoring, but his 1.36 points per game average blows every other Flyers skater out of the water. The organization has properly moved on from disagreements with one of their all-time greats whose number has hung in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center since 2018.

The Flyers were in Stanley Cup contention when Claude Giroux broke into the NHL. The crafty forward developed into the organizational centerpiece, but the team dragged through a forgettable era in franchise history during his captaincy.

Giroux is second in Flyers history in points, games played, and assists trailing only the legendary Bobby Clarke. He played on teams that won six total playoff series and recorded 73 postseason points, including an overtime goal in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2010. He has finished fourth or higher in Hart Trophy voting three times during his tenure in Philadelphia.

The Flyers will someday retire the number of one of their all-time greats who unfortunately never broke through with a Stanley Cup.