If Rathje’s in, will Flyers trade Gauthier?

Both Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Chuck Gormley of the Courier Post Online believe that if Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Mike Rathje makes the team out of training camp, Denis Gauthier will be traded to make room for him.

The Flyers have just $1.4 million to spend under the salary cap, so they would have to move substantial payroll to fit Rathje’s $3.5 million salary.

With Kimmo Timonen, Jason Smith, Derian Hatcher, Braydon Coburn, and Lasse Kukkonen set as the club’s top-five blueliners, Gauthier, Randy Jones, and Alexandre Picard will be left battling it out for the sixth and seventh spots.

So, it would make sense if the Flyers would try to move Gauthier and his $2.1 million cap hit. The club would have no interest in keeping that much salary on the bench.

When approached by Panaccio to comment on the situation, Gauthier admits he’s fully aware of the situation and says he will need an exceptional camp to convince the Flyers not to move him.

“I have to win a job in this camp,” he said.

However, when asked by Gormley what he would do if Rathje were to return, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren remained non-committal.

“Today is Sept. 10,” Holmgren said. “A lot can happen. But I expect Denis to have a good year for us.”