Gauthier was a late scratch in Tuesday's game against the Dallas Stars, as he came down with an illness, but he is set to return to the lineup on Friday against the Dallas Stars. After a hot start to the 2025-26 season, with 21 points (12G / 9A) in his first 17 games, Gauthier's production has cooled off, with 19 points (8G / 11A) in 28 games since.
Gauthier was a surprise absence on Tuesday, as the Ducks did not his absence prior to warmups. It's a tough break for Anaheim, who will already be without Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry for Tuesday's game against the Stars.
Gauthier was acquired in a trade from the Philadelphia Flyers earlier this season and will make his NHL debut on Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights. The 20-year-old Gauthier was the fifth overall pick of the Flyers in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and has spent the last two seasons playing collegiate hockey. He scored an impressive 65 points (38G / 27A) in 41 games with Boston College this season.
It was a shocking, blockbuster trade between the Flyers and Ducks on Monday, as Philadelphia opted to move on from their fifth-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for the sixth-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Jamie Drysdale, and a second-round draft pick. While Drysdale already has parts of four NHL seasons under his belt, Gauthier is still playing with Boston College in the NCAA, where he's racked up 13 goals and ten assists in 17 games this season.
