Ducks Rule Cutter Gauthier Out With Upper Body Injury

Anaheim Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier was forced to leave Saturday's game against the Calgary Flames with an upper-body injury, prompting the team to rule him out for the remainder of the contest. The 22-year-old departed early after limited playing time, leaving Anaheim without one of its leading offensive contributors as the 2026-27 NHL season gets underway.

According to reports from TSN and TheScore published October 11, Gauthier recorded five shifts and 2 minutes, 18 seconds of ice time before heading to the locker room. The Ducks subsequently confirmed that he would not return, but the circumstances surrounding the injury remained unclear.

The injury interrupted a productive start to the season for Gauthier. TSN reported that he had scored two goals and recorded four points through Anaheim's first four games, while TheScore also listed four points, describing his early-season production as one point per game across five games.

Gauthier was a key offensive force for Anaheim last season, recording career highs of 41 goals and 69 points in 76 games. Those totals led the Ducks in both categories, according to TheScore and Heavy.com, establishing him as a major contributor to the team's attack.

During the 2024-25 season, Gauthier appeared in all 82 games and collected 20 goals and 24 assists. His career NHL totals with Anaheim stood at 63 goals and 118 points in 163 games, according to TSN.

The early departure also left questions about the severity of the injury and its potential effect on Gauthier's availability for upcoming games. Heavy.com reported that his absence from a first-unit power play initially drew attention before the broadcast indicated that he was in the locker room. Anaheim later announced the upper-body injury, but no further details about how it occurred were available in the reports.

Gauthier signed a six-year contract worth $81 million with Anaheim in September, according to TSN and TheScore. The agreement followed another major offseason commitment by the Ducks, who signed teammate Leo Carlsson to a five-year, $90 million contract after the Philadelphia Flyers submitted an offer sheet in July.

Anaheim had won three of its first four games of the season, according to TSN, with Gauthier contributing to that start through his early scoring production. His status following Saturday's injury remained uncertain in the available reports.