Anaheim Ducks star forward Cutter Gauthier suffered an upper-body injury in the team’s overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports Gauthier will not travel with the team on their upcoming trip to San Jose for their game against the Sharks, but adds that the Ducks are “hopeful he returns this weekend.”
While it’s certainly fortunate for the Ducks that Gauthier appears to have avoided a more serious injury, losing Gauthier for any period of time takes one of the team’s best players out of the lineup. The 22-year-old winger has had a breakout sophomore season, leading the team in scoring with 38 goals and 65 points in 73 games played.
The only player in franchise history to score more goals in a season before age 23 is Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Paul Kariya. Gauthier is, without question, one of the most promising young players on a team filled to the brim with high-upside skaters aged 25 or younger.
That’s what makes Gauthier’s injury so significant, even if it only ends up costing him a game or two. He’s the Ducks’ most lethal scorer and his loss will be felt as the team looks to secure its place atop the Pacific Division. As the Ducks are hopeful Gauthier will return at some point relatively soon, it’s likely the team will also hope that the injury he’s suffered won’t be something that lingers and hampers him even slightly after he’s been cleared to return to the ice.
With Gauthier out of commission, the Ducks will be forced to turn to other players to fill Gauthier’s role, which was most recently on the team’s third line alongside Ryan Poehling and Jeffrey Viel. Veteran Frank Vatrano, a healthy scratch, could draw into the lineup in Gauthier’s place. It would be a real opportunity for Vatrano to get his season back on track, at one game at a time. The 32-year-old has endured a nightmarish campaign, one where he’s scored just four goals and eight points in 46 games played, a career-worst scoring rate.
Put McTavish up with the top 6 while Cutter is out
McTavish looks lost this season. I’d rather have vatrano up there.
Last night’s Anaheim Ducks vs Toronto Maple Leaf’s game was atrocious. It is everything that the league has tried to move away from for decades. What makes it worse is that the so-called “Vice-President of Player Safety” was in attendance in Anaheim supposedly in anticipation of problems on the heels of the Rado Gudas/Austin Mathews hit that occurred in the prior game between these teams. His attendance was apparently for naught.
What occurred last night was simply put a series of very clearly intentional acts by certain of the Maple Leaf players to cause injuries to the Duck players. There was no effort whatsoever to hide their intention to cause injury to the Ducks players – from the opening fight, to players leaving the bench and taking direct lines towards Duck players without any reference to where the puck was, or what was otherwise happening on the ice. It was post play second hits and punches. It went on and on – and it was disgraceful.
To make matters worse – it all was occurring in front of the very person supposedly charged with preventing this type of behavior. While Mr. Parros might have done similar actions while he was a player – those were different days and expressly why he was the one appointed to the position. For the game to go on as it did, seemingly without regard to the presence of the “Vice-President of Player Safety” being in the building simply goes to show that the Toronto Maple Leaf’s organization has no respect for him, his position or for whatever he might do – post-game – to administer punishment. What is says is that Mr. Parros is not respected and therefor unfit for the position and should either resign or be replaced – immediately.
Regardless of what opinion you formed after watching the Gudas/Matthews hit – what transpired last night was nothing short of unbridled vigilantism with deliberate intention to injure other players and should not be tolerated by the league. The NHL has worked very hard to improve the game, to expand its audience and the improvements are evidence by the increase in the television revenues and the year over year increase in the salary cap. It is good for the players and the fans alike. The league needs to act.
Mr. Bettman, it is your time to step in and act like the Commissioner of an ever-growing league and one that is finally gaining the widespread popularity it deserves. Games like the one last night are bad for the league as a whole.
Time for the NHL, and Mr. Bettman in particular to step up and do the right thing.
I disagree. I thought it was an entertaining game. I think the officials did a good job. Worst hit of the night was terry kneeing carlsson. I am a Ducks fan.