Meh. Biased fan here, but it wasn't a harmless quote and it has nothing to do with Flyers fans that he said it. It also has nothing to do with "not wanting players to have personalities." You don't give the other team bulletin board material. Same in the NBA, NFL. And leaning into some villain role because you didn't win an individual award when the obviously more important championship game is about to happen? I don't buy it. And if true, his priorities are in the wrong place.
He may have gotten some serious flack for the trade situation, but the guy comes across as kind of a dick fairly often. As he's a 20 year old soon-to-be multimillionaire, he better get used to having grown men care a lot about whether he wins or loses and how he acts.
I understand where you're coming from. But it's worth pointing out that Cutter has had no issues with his teammates. In fact, he was often pointed to as a leader by example. He also doesn't pick fights on the ice or regularly needle other teams before/after games.
They caught him in a weird moment tonight. The fact that they do the Hobey ceremony the night before the title game is poor planning in my view; he had to go to that event and lose to a guy who plays for his bitter rival less than 24 hours beforehand.
And who knows what the fans were shouting at him on the walk-in to the stadium where they made the players parade through a tunnel of spectators. While you're right that professional athletes have to have tough skin, for one he's not a professional yet. And secondly people have taken it to an extreme with Gauthier and ruthlessly insulted his character as a human being.
So who knows what's going on in his head when you accost him on the way into the game and put a microphone in his mouth before the biggest game of his life and what is likely his final time with his buddies. Still rooting for him.
