Cutter Gauthier Contract Talks Progress with Ducks

Pierre LeBrun says the contract talks between the Anaheim Ducks and restricted free agent Cutter Gauthier have picked up pace, with a deal in the region of six years and a $13-14m cap hit now the insider's expectation.

"The new collective bargaining agreement comes into effect on Wednesday night. That means the window to sign eight-year contracts is closing, because under the new rules the maximum extension length will be seven years. Just as important, the new agreement will limit signing bonuses. That appears to be the clause giving these talks between Anaheim and Gauthier their momentum. The positive news is that progress has been made and the talks are substantive. Nothing has been decided yet, but both sides are determined to get it done. There was a meeting over the weekend, and the dialogue was set to continue on Monday. I'm not a hundred per cent sure, but I expect that if a deal gets done, it will be a six-year contract. I'm also not sure whether Gauthier will get the $15 million a year that Connor Bedard got. But a figure in the region of $13-14 million wouldn't surprise me," LeBrun said.

Gauthier is 22 and remains without a new deal as the clock runs down on the old rules.

Bedard's $15m-a-year benchmark hangs over the talks, though LeBrun stopped short of predicting Gauthier will match it.