Penguins A to Z: Taylor Gauthier moved up the depth chart
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With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 season coming to an end without any postseason action, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 49 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until next season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Corey Andonovski to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
This series will publish every weekday leading into the NHL Draft on June 28 and 29.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)
Taylor Gauthier
Position: Goaltender
Catches: Right
Age: 22
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 208 pounds
2022-23 AHL statistics: 20 games, 8-3-6 record, 2.71 goals against average, .907 save percentage, zero shutouts
2022-23 ECHL statistics: 16 games, 8-7-1 record, 3.09 goals against average, .896 save percentage, one shutout
Contract: In the first year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $859,167. Pending restricted free agent in the 2025 offseason.
(Note: Gauthier does not require waivers for any transactions involving a minor league affiliate.)
Acquired: Undrafted free agent signing, March 1, 2022
Last season: Entering his first professional season, there wasn’t much mystery as to where Taylor Gauthier stood on the Penguins’ organizational depth chart.
He was fifth, at best. And as such, he opened the 2022-23 campaign with the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL level as a platoon mate with Tommy Nappier, a veteran signed to an American Hockey League contract.
Spending most of the first two months of the season in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, Gauthier did not take long to adjust to the professional level and earned a shutout in his third game, a 2-0 road win against the Iowa Heartlanders on Oct. 30 in which he made 20 saves.
While Gauthier didn’t exactly post dominant numbers with Wheeling, he was recalled to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in late December when fellow goaltending prospect Filip Lindberg began to deal with injuries. After a quick shuffling between the AHL and ECHL rosters in the days before New Year’s Eve, Gauthier never left Northeast Pennsylvania.
With veteran goaltender Dustin Tokarski on the NHL roster for most of January due to starter Tristan Jarry’s various ailments, Gauthier started six consecutive games between Dec. 31 and Jan. 14, posting a 4-1-0 record, a 2.66 goals against average and a .905 save percentage.
He might have compiled more prolific figures in January had he not suffered an undisclosed injury Jan. 14 that sidelined him for five games.
By mid-February, Tokarski was back in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Lindberg’s maladies brought his season to an end, allowing Gauthier to settle in as the AHL Penguins’ backup goaltender.
In his final 11 games of the season, Gauthier had a 3-2-6 record, a 3.00 goals against average and a .900 save percentage for a team that struggled badly in the final weeks of 2022-23.
The future: Some much larger things further up the trough need to unfold involving the Penguins’ goaltending — such as the future of Jarry, a pending unrestricted free agent — before figuring out a fair forecast for Gauthier going into 2023-24.
Gauthier is something of an anomaly in the Penguins’ organization as he’s their only netminder over 200 pounds and he’s their only silly-sider (right-catching goaltender). He blends his size with some athleticism and is just starting to figure out the technical aspects of the position.
There are modest expectations of him. After all, he was an undrafted free agent and he just completed his first professional season. But he took advantage of opportunities when available and, at the very least, moved up the depth chart.
With valued prospect Joel Blomqvist entering the first year of his three-year, entry-level contract, there should be plenty of competition for the net in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton next season. If Gauthier is part of that mix, it remains to be seen. But he certainly made a case for his cause in 2022-23.