Eric Lindros Thinks the Flyers Mishandled the Aftermath of the Cutter Gauthier Trade
In an interview with Michael Traikos at The Hockey News, Eric Lindros thinks the Flyers mishandled the aftermath of the Cutter Gauthier trade:
“I would have focused on just saying, ‘We wanted Jamie Drysdale and we had to give up this player,’” … “That’s how I would have dealt with it. I wouldn’t have publicized the situation. I would have just traded the kid.”
“I had a great time in Philly,” said Lindros. “But if he thinks he’s going to have a better time someplace else, then go for it. It’s a player’s right. The better the city and the organization treats a guy, the more it’s going to attract guys. That’s a big part of it.
Lindros is pretty delusional if he thinks Flyers fans would’ve been okay with this explanation why they traded their #2 prospect for a guy with injury history. Especially after he was coming off an impressive World Juniors run. Imagine if the new regime’s first move was trading one of the best forward prospects they’ve had in years with Matty Michkov stashed away also. The New Era of Orange would’ve been Gritty’s remains splattered all over Lot D after Flyers fans tried to burn down the Wells Fargo Center. I thought Danny B (and most of the fanbase agreed) handled a tough situation brilliantly. That paired with Torts saying he doesn’t know Cutter from a hole in the wall fired the fanbase up. You couldn’t even make an argument for Lindros’ comments about being in a better place. Anaheim has been rebuilding for a decade with no clear plan towards the future.
Lindros continued:
As for how the Flyers handled the situation, Lindros said he wondered why GM Daniel Briere even mentioned that Gauthier had no interest in signing. After all, the Flyers ended up getting Drysdale in the trade, who some suggest might end up becoming a better player than Gauthier will be.
“Think about how it was handled,” said Lindros. “It’s like going to the bar when you’re younger and you ask a girl out. If she says, ‘No,’ you don’t go to your buddies and say ‘She shut me down.’ You know what I mean?
That’s exactly what you do when a girl denies you at the bar. Maybe if you’re not 21-year-old Hart trophy winner Eric Lindros, but for us regular folk it’s not just all fishing with dynamite out there big guy. What other move is there when you get shut down in front of your group of friends than to walk back with your tail between your legs?
I’ll chalk this quote up to being Scott Stevens’ fault.