Confirmed with Link: Frederik Gauthier signs a 2 year 2-way contract

[SprDaVE]

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[Menzinger]

Doubt he sees NHL ice this season, but seems to have carved out a niche on the Marlies

 

[AppsSyl]

Nice to see the Goat get signed. He is C depth and a good soldier, and plays a key role on the Marlies.

 

[IBeL34f]

Kinda get the feeling the 2nd year is to scare teams away from plucking him off waivers if he doesn't crack the lineup in October. Hope he gets a solid shot, though, now that he seems to be fully recovered from his leg injury.

 

[Nooodles]

Great. I still think he could be a good 4th line C one day.

 

[1specter]

He's an ultra long term project. 7 years in the making, baby.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

He's an ultra long term project. 7 years in the making, baby.

4th line PK centre this season. Book it.

 

[SprDaVE]

He's just depth at this point. I think he can be a good call-up if we run into injuries. You can never have enough center depth.

He was really good for the Marlies in their run. Dubas spoke highly of him. Not sure he'll ever be a permanent NHL player though.

 

[SweLeafsFan]

Good for depth I guess, now get Nylander and Johnsson signed.

 

[Knies iT]

Happy to see him signed to a multi-year deal.

He was on my DND list in 2013, but since then his skating has really improved, as have his hands. One thing i've noticed is that he's a totally different player when you watch him live. He still has potential to be a strong 4th line C in the near future.

 

[Canada4Gold]

League minimum for 2 years(650+700) could help him get a roster spot potentially next year(after he clears waivers this year). The fact that it's league minimum and a 2 way deal pretty much tells you he's not worth much. But I guess he used what leverage he had to get 2 years.

 

[pheasant]

4th line PK centre this season. Book it.

I think he might slot in a bit higher than 4th line on the Marlies. Unless you mean 4th line on the Leafs, in which case I disagree. I would be surprised if he ever plays a regular role on any NHL team. And I don't think he'll ever take a shift as a Leaf again unless there's significant injuries to the big club.

 

[Walshy7]

Kinda get the feeling the 2nd year is to scare teams away from plucking him off waivers if he doesn't crack the lineup in October. Hope he gets a solid shot, though, now that he seems to be fully recovered from his leg injury.

doesn't 2 way mean he wont need waivers?

 

[Mikeyg]

Woof what a fall from grace for goat boy. The lesson couldn’t be any clearer here, dont waste 1st on defensive specialist forwards

 

[-DeMo-]

doesn't 2 way mean he wont need waivers?

no it just means he has different salaries between NHL and AHL, 1 way means you get your NHL salaries even if your in the minors

 

[IBeL34f]

doesn't 2 way mean he wont need waivers?

Only in the EA NHL games
In the real world, 2-way contracts just mean the player receives different payment depending on which League (NHL/AHL) they are currently active in.

 

[Canada4Gold]

doesn't 2 way mean he wont need waivers?

No, and please take a couple minutes out of your day to go yell at video games and fantasy hockey for making everyone believe this myth.

Waivers is determined based on your signing age, how many years have passed since then and how many games you've played. Gauthier has just passed the years limit this offseason so will be waiver eligible next year.

A pretty good rule of thumb is unless you reach the games limit first(like Marner has) your waiver exemption usually runs out when your ELC ends. The 2 major exceptions is goalies(who get 1 extra waiver exempt year), and guys who signed their ELCs at an older age may be off that rule of thumb.

 

[Razz]

I really like the goat, I hope he does eventually land an NHL job. Unfortunately for him he was drafted by the Leafs whom are built for speed/skill. I could see him carving out a role in the west though.

 

[blueberrie]

Marlies have terrible C depth and the players seem to like him so I have no problems with it.

Have zero expectations for an NHL player anymore though.

 

[TheProspector]

Like I've been saying for years (we're now five years removed from this pick!), decent fourth NHL liners are good AHLers, and great CHLers. This was never going to work.

Actually good NHL 4th liner Brian Boyle put up nearly 1ppg at the same age in the AHL as Freddie.

 

[Stephen]

Yeah, good not to lose an asset randomly, audition him for a 4th line role next year.

 

[Razz]

Like I've been saying for years (we're now five years removed from this pick!), decent fourth NHL liners are good AHLers, and great CHLers. This was never going to work.

Actually good NHL 4th liner Brian Boyle put up nearly 1ppg at the same age in the AHL as Freddie.

You never know, he could make the team this year. With Tavares on the team, our #4 C will never get more than 10 min a night and could be utilized in a Dave Stekel kind of way.

 

[Jozay]

Marlies need centers, so it makes sense that they kept him around.

Would be surprised if he makes the leafs

 

[Kazparov]

I don't think he will be a NHLer.

 

[Fogelhund]

Bottom line. He has to improve his foot speed to be a NHL player. He had a very serious injury and surgery last season, that lead to him needing to learn to walk and skate again. Perhaps this off season, he will work on his weaknesses and become a shut down #4C, primarily PK and a total of 8-10 minutes per game max.

With Kadri, Tavares and Matthews, we won't really need an offensive guy on the #4C, but a shutdown, and PK specialist we could use. He's got a big body, skates well enough when at speed, but not a great first few strides... but he's big and that takes time.

No real risk to us, if he just becomes an AHL player either and the two year contract likely means nobody will pick him up on waivers and keep him on their roster.