Former Philadelphia Flyers first-round pick Cutter Gauthier received tons of backlash for his decision not to play for the Flyers.

Former Philadelphia Flyers first-round pick Cutter Gauthier received tons of backlash for his decision not to play for the Flyers.

He was traded in a blockbuster move for Jamie Drysdale, and rumors swirled about why he didn't want to play for the Flyers. 

Flyers head coach John Tortorella got frustrated with a reporter who swirled rumors of Kevin Hayes influencing his decision. 

To this day, Tortorella won't answer questions from this reporter. 

In a story by ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, Guthier opened up about the messages he received after the trade. 

"Gauthier said he received "thousands and thousands" of direct messages on social media, including some death threats. Nearly three months after the trade, Gauthier is happy to report the noise has quieted, something for which his coach is thankful," Wyshynski wrote. 

Flyers CEO Dan Hilferty also commented on the matter, warning Gauthier that it won't be pretty when he does eventually play in Philadelphia.

"I don't really feel bad for Cutter when he comes to Philadelphia. It's gonna be a rough ride here and he earned it," Hilferty said. 

"Kind of tough to see. But that's on them. That's not on me," Gauthier said as a response to Hilferty. 

Boston College head coach Greg Brown has been impressed with Gauthier's ability to block out the noise and enjoy a successful season. 

"It was dicey there for a little while. Fortunately, it's died down. The stuff that was going around online was insane. We understand that some Philadelphia people have animosity or some venom toward him because they want him to be on their team. But we know he's not a bad person. He's a great kid. So you have to separate their misunderstanding of him not wanting to be in Philadelphia to the person that he is," Brown said. "The impressive part with Cutter is his hockey stayed at an extremely high level. He did not let that affect his game in any way. So even though he was getting bombarded online, he was able to separate himself and play excellent hockey during that time."

Guthier praised his teammates for supporting him through the process.

"The guys have been nothing but the best. They knew it was a personal matter and they've been nothing but supportive since day one. They asked me if I'm doing OK with all the hate and all the stuff that was going on," Gauthier said. "It was truly special of them to take the time out of their day to reach out to me and see if I was doing OK and I really appreciated that."

Gauthier's Boston College is the No. 1 seed at the upcoming NCAA National Tournament. Arch rival Boston University is the No. 2 seed on the other side of the bracket, giving fans a highly anticipated national championship game if both teams get there. 

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