Jan 11, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale (9) reacts after scoring a goal against the Anaheim Ducks in the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
There wasn't a chant, a jeer, a boo, or a chortle that was missed on Saturday night inside the Wells Fargo Center.
Flyers fans delivered in a way that has not been seen in quite some time. Their target, Cutter Gauthier.
We don't need to rehash the reasons why, but in case you've been under a rock for the past year, Gauthier, a highly-touted Flyers draft pick, forced his way off the Flyers by claiming he didn't want to play for the team and then ignoring attempts for the better part of a year by the Flyers brass and development guys before he was shipped to Anaheim one year ago this week in a trade for defenseman Jaime Drysdale and a second round pick.
Flyers fans, rightfully so, felt spurned. They wanted to let Gauthier know how they felt, and waited an entire year to do so.
And did they ever.
Cutter Gauthier takes the ice for the first time in Philadelphia, the team that drafted him 5th overall in 2022, after forcing his way out via trade. Flyers fans let him and Ducks have it as he hits the ice. Followed by an “a**hole” chant. Welcome to Philly Cutter. #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/Z2z5qbVMZM
Cutter Gauthier received a flurry of boos from Flyers fans when he touched the ice for his first game in Philly 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Pth1I2x3WF
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 12, 2025
“Fuck you Cutter”
Flyers fans are already making their presence felt in Cutter Gauthier’s first game in Philadelphia. #LetsGoFlyerspic.twitter.com/Jvc33Dg8DZ
It was relentless. From the first time Gauthier stepped on the ice for warmups to the final horn. Every time he stepped on the ice there was something. Every time he touched the puck, there was something. Hell, even when he had longer stretches of time where he wasn't on the ice - usually while the Ducks were killing penalties - they didn't stop, imploring Anaheim coach Greg Cronin to put Gauthier back on the ice.
It was Philadelphia fans at their best.
There hasn't been vitriol aimed at one player in this town like that since Ben Simmons' return against the Philadelphia 76ers, but when it comes to hockey, it goes back a lot further than that. In the non-Sidney Crosby division of fan anger, not since Eric Lindros returned in his first game as a New York Ranger has there been such animus from the fans.
And Gauthier deserved every minute of it.
Of course, he tried to blame it on the media after the game (because, you know, we manufactured this drama, not him).
And not surprisingly John Tortorella said something similar:
John Woke-orella criticizing Flyers fans for boo’ing Cutter Gauthier?? Never thought I’d see the day pic.twitter.com/eLxRX1MhGJ
Torts' is an old school hockey guy who believes in a brotherhood throughout the league. Basically, there's only 700 jobs as a player or coach in the world at the highest level of professional hockey, and anyone who gets to have one - even for a short period of time - is a special talent who deserves mutual respect, even if there are personality clashes. So, it's no surprise, that again, the trope would be that this whole hubbub on Saturday night was a figment of the media's imagination.
Cool.
But the media didn't call for elevated security in the building last night. The media was used as a vehicle for the Flyers to get out in front of the Gauthier trade story a year ago, where it was the President of the team Keith Jones going on television saying, "You don't want to be a Flyer, you're not going to be a Flyer," and Dan Hilferty, CEO of Comcast-Spectacor, going on the Press Row Show, part of the Snow the Goalie podcast saying "I don't really feel bad for Cutter when he comes to Philadelphia. It's going to be a rough ride here and he earned it. We're Philadelphians and we want people who are going to be here with us."
So, as Torts likes to say, I call bullshit on this whole thing being a media-driven narrative.
Honestly, that's a minority opinion that I probably spent too long discussing just now, because, guess what? The fans brought it. And so did the Flyers players. Quite plainly, they kicked Anaheim's ass.
Look, the Ducks are terrible. What we watched Saturday night was truly one of the bottom-feeders in the sport, so excitement about a blowout win should be tempered slightly considering that, but, it was apparent that in the high-energy environment, with the sellout crowd of fans salivating like hungry dogs, there was only one way for the Flyers to play - and they rose to the occasion.
So many times in the past have we seen the Flyers not do that. They would come up small in a big game, or leave fans incredibly disappointed.
But not Saturday.
The Flyers fed off their crowd. It was reminiscent of what the atmosphere was like for Flyers games from the 1970s all the way through to about a decade ago. There were always big games, big moments, and a symbiotic relationship between players and fans that made the whole experience of being in the building on game night special.
That slowly eroded over the last decade for a variety of reasons, mostly missteps in management of the franchise, and the current regime is trying to actually repair it and not just use bubble gum and duck tape and hope that works.
There haven't been many opportunities for this synchronicity between fans and team, so, when it came together on Saturday, it was a sight for sore eyes.
"Just how loud and supportive (they were), it brings just so much energy to the room," said Drysdale, who scored a goal and added an assist in the rout of his former team. "Every guy on the team was talking about it. The crowd was unbelievable and a big part of how we performed."
DRYSDALE ENDS HIS SCORING DROUGHT AGAINST HIS FORMER TEAM 🔥 pic.twitter.com/PfHgMQuFC7
The Flyers probably won't have an atmosphere like that again this season. The Flyers have 20 home games remaining on the schedule, but aside from maybe, possibly, two games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in February at which the traditional booing of Crosby commences, there's not a game that, at this point, looks like it can match the hype level of Saturday.
And that's OK. The Flyers, as a team, aren't there yet. The playoffs are a long shot this season and there are roster changes on the horizon (and by horizon, I mean the next six months, not tomorrow, or next week, so don't get too excited).
But for one night, the old feeling was back in the building. It was good for the fans to feel it again. It was good for the Flyers players to feel it, too. It's something they can tuck away in their memory banks as an experience that they want to strive to attain again and again.
Because it was an unforgettable night. Anyone who was in the building will remember it, and probably Cutter Gauthier most of all.
