The Flyers traded top prospect Cutter Gauthier to the Ducks for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 20205 second-round pick Monday.
Holy bombshell.
Fresh off a gold-medal win at the World Juniors, the Flyers traded top prospect Cutter Gauthier to the Ducks in exchange for 21-year-old defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in 2025.
Gauthier, selected fifth overall at the 2022 draft and named Best Forward at the WJC, was seen as a centerpiece of the Flyers' future along with Matvei Michkov, who is still under contract in Russia. That's what made the trade so surprising, though it was later revealed Gauthier reportedly had no intentions of signing with the Flyers and was shopped at the most recent draft.
In Drysdale, the Ducks give up their sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft. Hampered by injuries over the past two seasons, he profiles as a skilled offensive defenseman who can play both sides of the puck. He was supposed to be a big piece of their future blueline, but with Drew Helleson, Jackson LaCombe, Tristan Luneau, Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov in the system, Drysdale was deemed expendable.
Moving Drysdale to the Flyers can have a significant trick-down impact in fantasy. Here's what it means for the following players.
Pavel Mintyukov (22% rostered)
Mintyukov likely benefits the most from this trade. During Drysdale's absence, Mintyukov led all Ducks 'D' with 2:38 PP TOI/GP, edging veteran Cam Fowler by nine seconds. It was impressive considering Mintyukov's age and inexperience, but his ability to generate offense was easy to see. Greg Conin was also not shy about using him.
During Drysdale's absence, Mintyukov generated 17.85 expected goals at 5-on-5, according to naturalstattrick.com, trailing only Fowler and Radko Gudas. On the power play, no other Ducks defenseman was better than Mintyukov, who generated 109.73 shot attempts per 60 minutes, compared to 103.95 for Fowler.
After Drysdale returned, Mintyukov's PP TOI/GP dropped to 29 measly seconds with Drysdale on PP1 and Fowler on PP2, and Mintyukov mopped up whatever was left. It was a curious decision, but for a team that put Leo Carlsson under a load management program, it was likely to ensure Mintyukov doesn't burn out. He's a piece for the future and the Ducks aren't a win-now team.
It will be interesting to see if Mintyukov hops back on PP1 right away or if Fowler will get bumped up instead. Either way, trading Drysdale means more power-play minutes just became available, and it's Mintyukov's to take.
Mintyukov has not scored a point in six games. I bet that changes soon.
Jamie Drysdale (17% rostered)
As a righty, assume the Flyers will now go lefty-righty on all three pairings, and that Drysdale will slot in ahead of Sean Walker and Rasmus Ristolainen, perhaps on the top pairing with the left-handed Travis Sanheim, who can play on either side.
Drysdale's offense is his calling card and it's what the Flyers need from their blueline, but the problem is you never quite know what John Tortorella is going to do. Nobody is immune from getting benched, and it's not like Drysdale is a polished product at 21 years old and having missed so much time due to injuries.
The upside will be on the power play, and this is where the Flyers need a lot of work, ranked 32nd in the league. They seem pretty comfortable with Egor Zamula, but they should give Drysdale a shot just to see if he can provide a spark.
We shall wait and see how the Flyers deploy Drysdale, but certainly his fantasy value gets a small boost playing on a team that's been much better than the Ducks. With his ability to get shots on goal on a consistent basis, something Zamula doesn't do nearly as well, I think Drysdale is worth stashing in 12 to 14-team leagues.
Cam York (6% rostered) and Egor Zamula (1% rostered)
I think both defensemen's fantasy value takes a hit, as minimal as it may be already. It'll also be interesting to see who comes out of the lineup; the addition of Drysdale gives Tortorella seven defensemen he can play every night, and I would venture a guess that it's Zamula who comes out of the lineup even though he's made major strides lately.
If not Zamula, then it's likely going to be a rotation, though it doesn't bode particularly well for Sean Walker, the underrated 29-year-old righty who is a pending UFA and could be dangled as trade bait.
