Flyers GM Danny Brière talks Cutter Gauthier trade, Jamie Drysdale, and more

Danny Brière still doesn’t know why Cutter Gauthier didn’t want to be a Flyer.

In an appearance on The Jeff Marek Show on Thursday, the Flyers general manager reiterated that the Flyers remain in the dark as to the specific reason Gauthier changed his mind and wanted out of Philadelphia.

“We don’t know. So we have no idea,” Brière said on the nationally syndicated radio show in Canada when asked if the lack of stability in the Flyers organization last season played a role.

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“To be honest, I can understand that to a certain degree. The part that we could not understand was why we could not get a chance to present our vision to him and his family. That was the odd thing in the whole saga.”

Brière also said he was only able to talk with Gauthier once after he was promoted full-time to general manager in May.

“It was a Zoom call. His agent requested a Zoom call,” Brière said. “We thought that he was going to tell us that he wanted to turn pro, that he was changing his mind because he had told us that he wanted to go back to college for another year to develop. But he had a really good World Championship, and even ourselves, we thought, ‘OK, he might be more ready than anybody thought.’ And so we were ready to move in that direction. You know, had a contract ready, and when the Zoom started, we were told he was changing his mind, but not to turn pro, rather that he just didn’t want to play for the Flyers and requested to be traded.”

Trading Gauthier was a multi-month process. Brière revealed that the Flyers fielded inquiries from a multitude of teams and that “at least two other teams also made serious offers.”

In return for Gauthier, the Flyers landed young Anaheim defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick, which Brière said in their view was the most attractive offer. While landing a defenseman, a team need and a prime position, was important, Brière acknowledged it was not a requirement.

» READ MORE: ‘The guy can fly like the wind’: Meet Jamie Drysdale, the Flyers’ newest core piece

“It’s exciting,” the general manager said. “And, look, Jamie’s skating ability is second to none. Very impressive the way he skates, the way he moves sideways as well.

“The last few days, I got to catch myself because you forget that he’s only 21 years old. You know, he’s been in the NHL for a few years already, and you think he’s a grizzly veteran, but he’s not. He’s 21 years old and he has so much to learn, and that’s the exciting part for us.

“He’s got so much more upside, and we believe he can get to a totally different level than he is at this point, and we thought he had a pretty good first game last night in a new system.”

Drysdale logged 19 minutes, 46 seconds of ice time in his Flyers debut, playing on the power play and registering an assist on Morgan Frost’s goal against Montreal on Wednesday.