John Tortorella makes his feelings about Cutter Gauthier circling the Flyers game extremely clear 

Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella made his feelings very clear about forward Cutter Gauthier circling Saturday's game between the Anaheim Ducks and Flyers on his calendar.

When asked by reporters on Friday about Gauthier's comments, John Tortorella replied:

"I don't give a shit what he says. I'm not interested in answering any questions about Cutter Gauthier. I don't wish anything bad on the kid. I'm not going to answer any questions on it."

Gauthier was selected in the 2022 NHL draft by the Flyers, but he didn't sign or engage in contract discussions with the team. That resulted in trading Gauthier’s rights in January to the Ducks for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a draft pick. Anaheim subsequently signed Gauthier to an entry-level deal.

Leading up to Saturday's matchup, which will be the first time Gauthier faces his former team, the rookie made it clear that he has had this game circled.

"Obviously with all that happened, it's definitely been a game circled on my calendar, and I'm super excited to play," Gauthier said Friday(as per Sportsnet).

"It's been a lot of anticipation leading up to the game, so I'm ready to go out there and play my game."

The messy breakup between Gauthier and the Flyers stemmed from the player's refusal to sign or even train with the team after being drafted. While Gauthier never specified his reasons, reports indicated that he was unhappy that Philadelphia wouldn't guarantee an NHL roster spot for him right away in 2022-23.

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Fans react to John Tortorella's comments to Cutter Gauthier circling the Flyers game

John Tortorella's comments to Cutter Gauthier about circling the Flyers game on his calendar has sparked reactions from fans online. Many Flyers faithful backed the coach's characteristic bluntness, with one tweeting:

"Torts is still the best"

Another wrote:

"How exactly is asking the coach about the biggest storyline going into the game "childish antics"?"

Here are some more fan reactions:

"People can say what they want, but this is just one more reason I love Torts as the coach. He protects players and will not be brought into childish antics by the media," one fan wrote.

Oh you bet he doesn’t want to talk about Cutter," another fan wrote.

"The guy didn’t want to be here, asks for a trade and now he acts like he has the axe to grind? Screw him and his 4 goals is 34 career games," a user commented.

"I hope there are 20 Flyers who have it circled too! Screw him," another user wrote.

The veteran coach isn't interested in any discussion about Gauthier's comments or first game against his former team. John Tortorella is focused on preparing the Flyers against the Ducks on Saturday night.