The Anaheim Ducks have signed forward Cutter Gauthier to a six-year contract, the club announced on Wednesday, September 16. The team did not disclose financial terms, but ESPN and The Athletic reported the deal carries an average annual value of $13.5 million, making it the second-largest on the roster behind centre Leo Carlsson’s $18 million a season.
The 22-year-old restricted free agent was Anaheim’s leading scorer in 2025-26, setting career highs with 41 goals, 28 assists and 69 points in 76 games, including 11 power-play goals. He added four goals and eight assists in 12 playoff games as the Ducks, who finished 43-33-6, reached the postseason for the first time since 2017-18.
According to ESPN, the contract is heavily front-loaded, with an $18.6 million signing bonus and an $850,000 salary in the first year, meaning Gauthier will collect close to $19.5 million in year one. The agreement was reached late on Tuesday, September 15, the final day under the league’s old collective bargaining agreement; the new CBA that took effect at midnight caps signing bonuses at 60 percent of a contract’s value and reduces the maximum term for players re-signing with their own club from eight years to seven.
“We are pleased to get Cutter signed to a long-term deal and have him in camp on time,” general manager Pat Verbeek said. Gauthier said it was “a very exciting day for my family and me” and that he was pleased “to be able to sign long term with the Ducks and be part of what I believe is a great future.”
Gauthier was selected fifth overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022 draft and was traded to Anaheim on January 8, 2024, in the deal that sent Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick to Philadelphia. He recorded 44 points in 82 games as a rookie in 2024-25 before his breakout second season. Gauthier had been among several prominent restricted free agents still unsigned when the eight-year contract window closed on Tuesday, alongside Columbus’ Adam Fantilli, Detroit’s Simon Edvinsson and Carolina’s Alexander Nikishin. NHL preseason games begin on Saturday, September 19.
