Avalanche’s Casey Mittelstadt Filled A Role Worth Re-Signing

The 2024 Trade Deadline was dominated by the Vegas Golden Knights, who weren’t satisfied with just one blockbuster trade when they acquired Noah Hanifin, so they doubled down by acquiring Tomas Hertl, ending his 11 seasons with the San Jose Sharks. Their antics helped suppress a lot of other big moves around the Deadline, including what could go down as the biggest deal of the season: the swap of Bowen Byram and Casey Mittelstadt between the Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres. It’s rare to see two former top-10 picks traded before the age of 26, much less in a one-for-one swap, and with such major implications. In this move, the Sabres fought to find Rasmus Dahlin’s dynamic partner of the future, while the Avalanche hoped to solidify their top-six.

Thus, Byram immediately rivaled top pairing minutes in Buffalo, while Mittelstadt was awarded the role of Nathan MacKinnon’s understudy on Colorado’s second line. And through the fog of trade debate, the move seemed like a strong recognition of Mittelstadt’s potential. He posted a career-high 59 points in the 2022-23 season, finally living up to his eighth-overall selection in the 2017 NHL Draft after years of bouncing around the Sabres offense. The Avalanche chose to bite on that upside, while also moving out their own promising-but-inconsistent youngster, and they’ve been richly rewarded early on.

Mittelstadt was quickly a great match in Jared Bednar’s system, posting 10 points through 18 regular season games following his trade to Colorado. He looked much more confident and consistent than during his time in Buffalo, even reasonably elevating wingers Artturi Lehkonen and Jonathan Drouin when deployed alongside them. After finding his footing in the NHL with the Sabres, Mittelstadt seemed to take off with the Avalanche – a sentiment he stamped with a powerful postseason performance, scoring nine points in 11 games.

The strong performance was undoubtedly exciting for the Avalanche, who’ve struggled to find consistent center depth behind MacKinnon since losing Nazem Kadri to the Calgary Flames in 2022’s free agency. The duo of Evan Rodrigues and Alex Newhook platooned in the role during the 2022-23 season, to mostly good effect, with Rodrigues posting 39 points in 69 games. That tandem now pales in comparison to Mittelstadt, who totaled 57 points in 80 games this season and could be poised to top the 60-point mark for the first time in his career next year. But nothing can come too easily in the NHL, and the Avalanche will now face re-signing Mittelstadt before they can boast their second-line center of the future.

Mittelstadt is likely Colorado’s most expensive free agent entering the summer, though he’ll be rivaled by defenseman Sean Walker, who’s role in the top-four will command a high price tag in itself. Colorado has roughly $15.92MM in cap space entering the summer, with just nine players facing free agency. That should be enough for them to re-sign their choice of pending free agents. But the importance of inking Mittelstadt can’t be understated. Kadri broke out in Colorado’s second-line role during the 2021-22 season, recording 87 points in 71 games – a mark that remains his career-high. He’s since moved to the Calgary Flames on a commendable seven-year, $49MM contract.

After spending the last two seasons without a consistent man in the role, Mittelstadt could finally be the one to succeed Kadri’s strong performance. The Avalanche will certainly hope that’s the case, as they face uncertainty about the future of both Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin. Mittelstadt and veteran winger Jonathan Drouin could be a convenient – albeit unexpected – fill-in for those absences, though both players are in need of new contracts.

The Colorado offense isn’t in need of much help. Superstars MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar have shown an ability to lead the team through anything – made evident by the Avalanche leading the league in scoring this season. But the team can’t rest on laurels, even if their current core has already won one Stanley Cup. Mittelstadt offers a chance for the Avalanche to fill a much-needed role in the lineup for the forseeable future – which would come well-timed as the team faces a Rantanen extension next summer and a new contract for Makar in 2027. With lucrative contract negotiations, the swap of Byram and Mittelstadt could add yet another pillar to the Colorado lineup – with the added perk of making Landeskog and Nichushkin’s returns a boost, rather than a necessity.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Network.