Anaheim Ducks May Need To Trade Cutter Gauthier

The Anaheim Ducks may need to trade Cutter Gauthier. The Ducks are in a bind, with restricted free agent Gauthier asking for north of $15 million AAV and Anaheim currently has just over $9 million in cap space for the coming season. It's been suggested that Anaheim could try to move older players out in order to create enough room to sign Gauthier, but that's easier said than done at this stage of the off-season. 

It may be easier to look to trade a young breakout player like Gauthier and get as much as you can for him in return (with a lot less money coming in than the Ducks would have to pay Gauthier). Pacific Division rival Seattle Kraken is an example of a team that covets a winger like Gauthier. The Kraken have gone after Artemi Panarin and Jason Robertson recently and the money that Gauthier is asking for won't scare them away. Start with young centre Shane Wright (same age as Gauthier), combined with other assets as a return and the Kraken and Ducks may be able to come together on a deal for Gauthier. There's more here on the Gauthier situation.