I believe he'll be more in the vein of a Kimmo with the mobility, vision and intangibles.

He doesn't have Ghost's bomb and attacking instincts.
- Tomahawk

Kimmo Timonen to me is the standard. One I’m not so sure Drysdale could reach because Kimmo could do it all. So far I’ve heard Drysdale has great offensive instincts but little is said about his own end. I do expect him to have a more balanced game than Ghost or Provorov.

What I don't want is for Jamie Drysdale to become Kris Letang. Now I know at least 2 guys on here will be itching to call me an idiot, he has 3 cups, we'd be lucky if Drysdale became that good, etc. I just don't like Kris Letang. Brad Marchand undressed Letang in the middle of Boston garden last week and pointed at his little nuts after a goal and I was so happy. I hate that guy and I’m not a fan of his game.

This isn’t turning down a job at Walmart. This is undermining the draft system by using a loophole. The reason that the rest of the league kept this quiet for the Flyers is because of how terrible for the league this would be if other high end draft prospects did this. Other GMs could have stole him for nearly nothing if they leaked it to the press and yet 18-20 kept their mouth shut. Why would they hurt their team if this wasn’t a gigantic crap move.
- psuhockey

I have a somewhat different take on this, which I have mentioned in a post (replying to you) in the previous blog. It was a long post. I don't want to repeat it again.

Look, the kid's discontentment was likely real. It did not stem from a tantrum. His agent acted on that discontentment.

If there is a loophole, then fix it. Why blame one party for using that loophole to their advantage in a business matter?

But if you have already conveyed your decision, and they keep harrassing you..it's like the girlfriend you already told you want to break up and why, yet she still calls all the time to find out why, to try and fix it and give a chance...
- TheFreak

More like rejecting or disrespecting one of your parents. Flyers brought him into this world.

This isn’t turning down a job at Walmart. This is undermining the draft system by using a loophole. The reason that the rest of the league kept this quiet for the Flyers is because of how terrible for the league this would be if other high end draft prospects did this. Other GMs could have stole him for nearly nothing if they leaked it to the press and yet 18-20 kept their mouth shut. Why would they hurt their team if this wasn’t a gigantic crap move.
- psuhockey

Right, the NHL might have to deal with their labor pool on slightly more equal footing. What an effing nightmare.

But if you have already conveyed your decision, and they keep harrassing you..it's like the girlfriend you already told you want to break up and why, yet she still calls all the time to find out why, to try and fix it and give a chance...
- TheFreak

This cracked me up. Particularly when he was all about being a Flyer at the draft. If you don't like a team then that is what the pre-draft interviews are for - to let a team know you aren't interested or won't sign with them.
Serious bait and switch.

More like rejecting or disrespecting one of your parents. Flyers brought him into this world.
- roenick97

The Flyers weren't going to be his only option to get into the NHL. It's not like they discovered him in the middle of nowhere. he was highly touted when they drafted him. Other teams wanted him, and Anaheim tried to move up and draft him before Philly did.

What did he owe the Flyers? He kept quiet about it, but he owed them nothing. Just because they drafted him, does not mean he owes them anything, until a contract is signed. They own his rights, that's it.

One last time.

1. There was nothing to discuss. He had made his decision. He had conveyed his decision.

2. There was nothing to be gained by entertaining claims for his time from someone who wanted to change a decision already made.

3. Whether that someone had a right to try and persuade him is besides the point.

4. Under the circumstances, the way to handle this was by a polite and sustained avoidance, to continuously underline point 1 above. This is what you saw.
- PT21

They had a deal on the table with Anaheim. What's so horrible about giving the kid one more chance before they make the move? The Flyers knew it would not reflect well on them that the MVP in the gold medal game didn't want to play for them. Cutter's a good prospect and Philly didn't need the hassle of trying to defend their club.

Right, the NHL might have to deal with their labor pool on slightly more equal footing. What an effing nightmare.
- iamscore2day

Life would be very different if I could tell my boss to go shove it and yet still get paid by someone else. Some of these metaphors fall flat. Professional athletes and their careers do not parallel 99.9% of real careers. Agents exist to handle the drama. This one did a poor, poor job.

The Flyers weren't going to be his only option to get into the NHL. It's not like they discovered him in the middle of nowhere. he was highly touted when they drafted him. Other teams wanted him, and Anaheim tried to move up and draft him before Philly did.

What did he owe the Flyers? He kept quiet about it, but he owed them nothing. Just because they drafted him, does not mean he owes them anything, until a contract is signed. They own his rights, that's it.
- TheFreak

They weren’t going to be his only option but they were

This cracked me up. Particularly when he was all about being a Flyer at the draft. If you don't like a team then that is what the pre-draft interviews are for - to let a team know you aren't interested or won't sign with them.
Serious bait and switch.
- FlyersGrace

Or..as it seems, he wanted to sign, as most top drafted prospects are shortly after being drafted. The Flyers might have offered him things by Fletcher..I don't know if that is true, but whatever happened..his stance about being a Flyer changed after being drafted and dealing with the front office. Before the event, he wanted to sign here. No bait and switch.

This cracked me up. Particularly when he was all about being a Flyer at the draft. If you don't like a team then that is what the pre-draft interviews are for - to let a team know you aren't interested or won't sign with them.
Serious bait and switch.
- FlyersGrace

When you go to an interview, you tell the employers that you really believe in their company, their mission, their personnel, their culture. Everyone does it. Whether they believe it or not.

Does that mean you can't leave if you feel you want a change?

Kimmo Timonen to me is the standard. One I’m not so sure Drysdale could reach because Kimmo could do it all. So far I’ve heard Drysdale has great offensive instincts but little is said about his own end. I do expect him to have a more balanced game than Ghost or Provorov.

What I don't want is for Jamie Drysdale to become Kris Letang. Now I know at least 2 guys on here will be itching to call me an idiot, he has 3 cups, we'd be lucky if Drysdale became that good, etc. I just don't like Kris Letang. Brad Marchand undressed Letang in the middle of Boston garden last week and pointed at his little nuts after a goal and I was so happy. I hate that guy and I’m not a fan of his game.
- roenick97

I miss Kimmo. I'll be thrilled if he can get close to his talent lvl.

The Flyers didn't go to Sweden to know why. They went hoping they could work things out with the player and get him signed.

They didn't send high profile players to him. That's a mischaracterization. They sent employees and representatives of the Flyers to talk to the player that they hold the draft right to. Well within their purview.

You're trying to make it sound like it was some master stroke of strategy that obtained his objective. It wasn't. It was unprofessional and he could've gotten the same result by being respectful and meeting with the Flyers.

You want to talk about it being a business but ignore that it was well within the Flyers rights to pursue and engage with the player that they own the draft rights to.
- MJL

again, I have to agree 100% .. the Flyers did nothing wrong here. This is all on Gauthier and his lack of character.

I have a somewhat different take on this, which I have mentioned in a post (replying to you) in the previous blog. It was a long post. I don't want to repeat it again.

Look, the kid's discontentment was likely real. It did not stem from a tantrum. His agent acted on that discontentment.

If there is a loophole, then fix it. Why blame one party for using that loophole to their advantage in a business matter?
- PT21

He has every right to use that loophole but it’s unprofessional to not give the new management a simple explanation. The Flyers invested in him and he benefited from that investment. If your lawyer walked out on you mid case without explanation, what would your opinion be of that lawyer? Or your financial advisor or accountant? Would you be so understanding?

Or..as it seems, he wanted to sign, as most top drafted prospects are shortly after being drafted. The Flyers might have offered him things by Fletcher..I don't know if that is true, but whatever happened..his stance about being a Flyer changed after being drafted and dealing with the front office. Before the event, he wanted to sign here. No bait and switch.
- TheFreak

Just seems weird that he wouldn't talk to the new management then.

They had a deal on the table with Anaheim. What's so horrible about giving the kid one more chance before they make the move? The Flyers knew it would not reflect well on them that the MVP in the gold medal game didn't want to play for them. Cutter's a good prospect and Philly didn't need the hassle of trying to defend their club.
- Dkos

Oh when did I say the Flyers did anything wrong in trying to meet with the kid? I am sorry if I gave that impression. I think the Flyers were right to try. I think the agent was right to avoid.

During an endoscopy, they discovered a "nodule" in my esophagus. 99% of such nodules are malignant, and the prognosis for esophageal cancer is very poor.

It was a tough 10 days for the wife and me, waiting for the biopsy. But, I beat the odds.

Yay, me.
- PT21

Good to hear. The man up stairs was with you.

But if you have already conveyed your decision, and they keep harrassing you..it's like the girlfriend you already told you want to break up and why, yet she still calls all the time to find out why, to try and fix it and give a chance...
- TheFreak

How were they harassing him? We're they calling all the time like the girlfriend in your hypothetical? How many times did the Flyers attempt to talk to Gauthier over how long of a period of time? Briere stated that they gave Gauthier his space. Believe it or not.

When you go to an interview, you tell the employers that you really believe in their company, their mission, their personnel, their culture. Everyone does it. Whether they believe it or not.

Does that mean you can't leave if you feel you want a change?
- PT21

I guess this doesn't work for me because why would you even apply for the job if you didn't want it?
I still don't think the corporate metaphor works great - but I tell headhunters to leave me alone all the time.

Haha. Agreed. We are a collective support group that went through the peaks and valleys on this one haha never a dull moment being a flyers fan really.
- Hextall271

I know this is a silly way to be, but part of me feels really betrayed after rooting for Cutter at the WJC's thinking he was going to be with us in the near future. I feel like a schmuck who got cheated on. Especially now in hindsight after hearing that the ship had sailed long before the tourney even started.

I have a somewhat different take on this, which I have mentioned in a post (replying to you) in the previous blog. It was a long post. I don't want to repeat it again.

Look, the kid's discontentment was likely real. It did not stem from a tantrum. His agent acted on that discontentment.

If there is a loophole, then fix it. Why blame one party for using that loophole to their advantage in a business matter?
- PT21

The current CBA gives a drafted player the right to not sign with the team that drafted them, and Gauthier is certainly not the first player to refuse to sign. In turn the team has the right to keep that player for 4 years before they can become a free agent. The Flyers could have played hardball here, but they didn't.

I have no doubt the kid's discontentment is real, otherwise his refusal to sign with the Flyers would make no sense, and he doesn't have to share with anyone his reasons. But he should! At least to the Flyers he owes them an explanation. If the Flyers did something wrong he should tell them so they don't repeat the same mistake. If the Flyers did nothing wrong, and he just doesn't to play for them he should tell them. But for him to disrespect an organization, a fan base, hall of famers that came to see him and talk to him, is unacceptable and points to a clear character flaw. Like I said yesterday, good riddens!

The Flyers weren't going to be his only option to get into the NHL. It's not like they discovered him in the middle of nowhere. he was highly touted when they drafted him. Other teams wanted him, and Anaheim tried to move up and draft him before Philly did.

What did he owe the Flyers? He kept quiet about it, but he owed them nothing. Just because they drafted him, does not mean he owes them anything, until a contract is signed. They own his rights, that's it.
- TheFreak

I'll ask the same question I asked to another poster. Why do 99.9% or whatever of players drafted, if they're good enough to get offered a contract, sign with the team that drafted them? Why do players feel an obligation to the team that drafted them?

He has every right to use that loophole but it’s unprofessional to not give the new management a simple explanation. The Flyers invested in him and he benefited from that investment. If your lawyer walked out on you mid case without explanation, what would your opinion be of that lawyer? Or your financial advisor or accountant? Would you be so understanding?
- psuhockey

Sorry, trying to understand. How did he benefit? His stature was built by him. His finances were not changed.

Mid case? Mid deal? Those are contractual liabilities for them. I wouldn't want explanations. I would want compensation.

I would like to present you with one speculative reason why they did not mention a reason (if they really didn't). Maybe there were multiple reasons, leading to a complete lack of faith in the franchise itself. Mentioning that, to a organization who holds your rights, might serve no purpose than making them vengeful and angry. They take their revenge by shipping you to Arizona.

Let me ask you something: Why do you want to know the reason why so bady if not to change a mind (already made up)? How is it important? In many such cases, people lie anyway and say what the aggrieved party wants to hear.

I have been quietly looky lookying, and marveling.

Just survived a cancer scare, so there is still theoretical hope for my immortality.
- PT21

Very happy to hear this!

Not talking about other sports. Talking about Hockey. Why do players feel an obligation to play for the team that drafted them? Why don't see many players saying they don't want to play for the team that drafted them and force a trade?

It's not about throwing him under the bus. Kids make mistakes and bad decisions all the time. Shouldn't condemn them for life. It's about looking at one incident and forming an opinion.
- MJL

You may not like cross-pollination but it is a thing. What happens in other sports sooner or later applies more broadly. He was willing to sign apparently and we deferred it, apparently contradicting the timeline discussed before the draft. This decision cost him some $$. He came out of it deciding that he had a problem with the organization. A narrative along those lines is not unreasonable. We may not like it but calling him lots of names and using it gore a former player sucks. Not saying that you are doing to owe things but the reaction to this by fanbase and media more broadly is all lower brain stem.