Porrentruy's Perfect for ex-Maple Leafs Frédérik Gauthier
I got to like Frédérik Gauthier when he was a fourth-line centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs organization back in 2018 to 2020. He spent a handful of seasons as a big, reliable depth centre. Since then, he’s done what a lot of veteran NHLers do when the big league stops calling; he’s bounced around Europe looking for a good fit.
He had a solid year with HC Ajoie in Switzerland in 2022-23, then tried the KHL with Vityaz in 2024-25, where he put up his best numbers in years (21 points in 54 games). But now, at 30, he’s back with HC Ajoie again, and it feels like he might have found a place that actually suits him.
For Gauthier, playing in Switzerland seems to be a good fit.
For a French-Canadian kid from Laval, Quebec, settling in Porrentruy makes surprising sense. The town is tiny — only about 6,700 people — in the French-speaking Jura region of Switzerland. The language, the food, the slower pace, even the underdog hockey culture, all feel familiar. It’s not Montreal or Quebec City, but it’s still a French-speaking community where he doesn’t have to translate everything. That cultural comfort probably matters more than people realize when you’re living overseas.
Life in Porrentruy is about as different from the NHL as you can get, in a good way. He’s making a solid salary for a small-market team (likely in the 250k–350k CHF range, roughly $285k–$400k USD), and like most imports in Switzerland, he almost certainly gets free or heavily subsidized housing plus a car.
A low cost of living means money goes a long way. His days are probably pretty relaxed: morning practice at the small Raiffeisen Arena, afternoons free to explore the old town or the Jura hills, maybe grab a coffee in one of the quiet squares where everyone knows everyone. No big-city chaos, no constant media pressure, no 82-game grind.
Gauthier has the perfect personality for Switzerland.
And personality-wise, it fits him. Having worked in Switzerland myself, I can see how it fits a player like Gauthier. People who played with him in Toronto always said Gauthier was one of the funniest, most affable guys in the room. John Tavares once called him one of the funniest teammates he ever had. In a tiny town like Porrentruy, that kind of easy-going, likeable personality goes a long way. He can be a local hero without the suffocating spotlight.
At this stage of his career, Gauthier seems to have figured out what he wants: steady hockey, a comfortable life, and a place where he feels at home. Porrentruy, with its French roots, small-town warmth, and modest but stable pro hockey scene, might just be the right fit for him right now.