Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Casey Mittelstadt

Bruins Activate Casey Mittelstadt, Recall Georgii Merkulov

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Nov. 29th: There are conflicting reports regarding Callahan’s reassignment. According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, Callahan is on the ice for the team’s optional skate this morning before their matchup against Detroit. Additionally, the AHL Transactions page hasn’t registered Callahan’s reassignment at the time of writing. However, if Callahan hasn’t been returned to Providence, the Bruins would have one extra player on their active roster. Players reassigned from the NHL to the AHL must play in one contest before being eligible for recall, and the AHL Bruins play against the Belleville Senators this evening.

Nov. 28th: The Bruins announced four roster moves this morning, including the news that center Casey Mittelstadt has been activated from injured reserve and will play in today’s matinee against the Rangers. With news from head coach Marco Sturm today that top-six forwards David Pastrňák and Pavel Zacha sustained minor injuries in Wednesday’s win over the Islanders and are out day-to-day (via Scott McLaughlin of WEEI), Boston also recalled forward Georgii Merkulov from AHL Providence. The Bruins opened two roster spots by placing winger Matěj Blümel on long-term injured reserve and reassigning defenseman Michael Callahan to Providence.

Mittelstadt’s appearance today is his first after a nine-game absence. He’s been listed as week-to-week since sustaining a lower-body injury on Nov. 6.

Getting one top-six forward back is a key bit for a team that just lost two of its three top scorers, particularly if Pastrňák and Zacha will miss any significant length of time. Mittelstadt is in his first full season with the B’s after being acquired for Charlie Coyle from the Avalanche at last year’s deadline. He hasn’t been offensively overpowering since his arrival. He’s posted an 8-7–15 scoring line with a -17 rating in 33 appearances, including nine points in 15 games this year. That’s below his career-average pace of 15 goals and 44 points per 82 games.

It’s a rushed return for Mittelstadt, who didn’t even take a full practice before re-entering the lineup today in the wake of Pastrňák and Zacha’s injuries. Before getting hurt, he had shifted to the wing on a line with Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson. That line had outscored opponents 8-4 at 5-on-5 and controlled 50.6% of shot attempts. He won’t have either of them to skate with today, though, as Arvidsson’s been on injured reserve since Nov. 17 and is out indefinitely. He’s skating on a unit with Marat Khusnutdinov and the hastily recalled Merkulov.

Merkulov, 25, has been one of Boston’s top minor-league producers for years but has never landed an extended NHL opportunity. An undrafted free agent signed out of Ohio State in 2022, he’s got just one assist in 10 NHL games to date despite getting a decently long leash, averaging 12:28 of ice time per game. The playmaking pivot has never registered under 50 points in an AHL season and is again on track to pass that plateau in 2025-26. Through 17 appearances for Providence, he’s rattled off six goals and eight assists for 14 points to sit third on the team in scoring. He now has a 76-117–193 scoring line in 218 career AHL games, putting him seventh in the league in scoring since his rookie year in 2022-23.

The Bruins had already said Blümel would miss significant time. The 25-year-old winger, who was also a relatively recent recall from Providence to compensate for the Bruins’ bevy of injuries to their forward group, left Wednesday’s game in the first period with a lower-body injury. An LTIR placement means Blümel is ineligible for the next 10 games and 24 days. The earliest he can return is Dec. 20 against the Canucks. Despite seeing first-line minutes with Pastrňák and Zacha, he’d gone without a point and had a -3 rating in four games since his call-up.

Callahan has served as an extra defenseman for the B’s for a good chunk of the season as Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy and Jordan Harris have each dealt with long-term absences. He’s a luxury they can’t afford to roster with Pastrňák and Zacha not expected to be out long enough to warrant an IR placement. Once the Bruins can return a forward to Providence, he’ll likely find himself back up in the NHL.

Bruins Recall Matej Blumel, Riley Tufte

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Bruins announced they’ve recalled wingers Matěj Blümel and Riley Tufte from AHL Providence. To open the necessary roster space, forwards Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson were placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 6 and Nov. 15, respectively. With under $1MM in cap space, Boston also moved defenseman Jordan Harris from standard IR to LTIR to facilitate the recalls.

It’s Blümel’s first recall to Boston since landing there as a Group VI unrestricted free agent over the summer. He was a semi-surprising omission on the Bruins’ opening night roster. Not only did they sign him to a one-way deal worth $875,000, but there was legitimate concern he wouldn’t clear waivers after an exceptionally strong three-year run of play in the minors in the Stars’ system. A fourth-round pick of the Oilers back in 2019, he never signed with Edmonton and instead landed in Dallas as a free agent out of Czechia in 2022.

While Blümel only scored twice in 13 career appearances with Dallas, he was among the AHL’s top players while with the Texas Stars. He was a two-time All-Star and led the league in goals last season with 39, capping off his first campaign above a point per game with 33 assists and 72 points in 69 outings. For a Bruins roster that looked starved for depth scoring coming into the season, he looked like a logical candidate to get an audition in a middle-six role.

That didn’t happen, and Blümel has actually been off to a sluggish start in Providence with two goals in 13 appearances. He’s still added 11 assists to maintain a point-per-game pace, though. With another top-six name in Arvidsson now out week-to-week with his lower-body injury, Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub confirms, Blümel will likely be the one to replace his spot on the depth chart alongside Pavel Zacha.

While Tufte has been more offensively explosive in the minors this season, the 27-year-old’s play style makes him a more natural fit for a bottom-six/fourth-line job. The 6’6″, 230-lb winger is in his second season with the Bruins organization, but hasn’t suited up for them yet this year. He suited up six times last season, going without a point and logging a -3 rating in 9:12 of ice time per game.

The 2016 first-rounder does have 24 games of NHL experience to his name, though, and has been the centerpiece of a red-hot Providence team thus far. He’s tied for the team lead in scoring with eight goals and 16 points in 13 outings while also carrying a team-leading +10 rating. After back-to-back 20-goal campaigns in the minors, he’s more than on track for a third.

Since Mittelstadt’s already missed more than a week, he’s eligible to come off IR at any time. Like Arvidsson, he carries a week-to-week designation because of a lower-body issue, but he’ll presumably be back in the lineup sooner than his frequent linemate this year because he’s already missed four contests. As for Harris, he underwent ankle surgery in late October and isn’t expected back in the lineup until after Christmas.

Casey Mittelstadt Out Week-To-Week

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Bruins center Casey Mittelstadt is nursing an apparent knee issue and has already missed one game, but head coach Marco Sturm said this morning he’s been downgraded to week-to-week (via Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald). They’re hoping he can get some light skates in later this week, but he’ll need something of a lengthy ramp-up period before he’s ready for game action again.

Mittelstadt, who turns 27 later this month, was acquired from the Avalanche last season and has had pedestrian output in a middle-six role since. He’s made 33 appearances since the surprise deadline deal, posting an 8-7–15 line with a -17 rating. In 2025-26, he’s already been a healthy scratch once and has seen his ice time drop to 14:32 per game. It’s his first time below 15 minutes since the 2019-20 campaign.

The eighth overall pick of the 2017 draft, Mittelstadt is now with his third club. The 6’1″ pivot spent parts of seven seasons with the Sabres before being included in a pair of notable change-of-scenery moves – first to the Avalanche for Bowen Byram at the 2024 deadline and again to the Bruins for Charlie Coyle last year. He flashed legitimate second-line ceiling with Buffalo, rattling off back-to-back 50-point seasons in his final two seasons there, but his offensive production since hasn’t warranted that type of deployment.

In fact, Boston has shifted Mittelstadt to the wing. That’s where the good news lies: he’s spent most of the year as a wingman for Viktor Arvidsson and Pavel Zacha, and that trio has churned out the best two-way play of the B’s’ frequently-used line combos. Of their three to log 50 minutes together, the Arvidsson-Zacha-Mittelstadt unit’s 50.0 xGF% is the best, per MoneyPuck. He’s got an even rating for the year as a result.

The Bruins now find themselves down two top-six pieces long-term in Mittelstadt and Elias Lindholm, who’s out week-to-week with a lower-body issue. The team has performed better than expected offensively this year, ranking 12th in the league with 3.29 goals per game, but that figure is down to regress thanks to those absences and a 12.2% shooting rate that’s bound to cool off.

Call-up Alex Steeves found himself in Mittelstadt’s slot on the second line when he made his Boston debut against his former team, the Maple Leafs, on Saturday. He didn’t record a point but could get a second look there in Boston’s rematch with Toronto tomorrow.

Atlantic Injury Updates: Bruins, Cirelli, Tanev

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Several updates on the availability of their players have been reported today, namely Charlie McAvoy, Casey Mittelstadt, and John Beecher. Per The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa, the Bruins’ top defenseman McAvoy did not travel with the team due to a personal matter, while Mittelstadt did not travel due to an upper-body injury. In addition, team reporter Belle Fraser reported today that Beecher is out with his own upper-body injury.

These injuries have left the Bruins in a somewhat precarious position entering their game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins were already dealing with an injury to top center Elias Lindholm, who was later placed on injured reserve. According to Fraser, veteran Jeffrey Viel will replace Beecher on the Bruins’ fourth line, while Alex Steeves, who was recalled today from AHL Providence, will play on the team’s second line, the one centered by Pavel Zacha. Due to McAvoy’s absence, defenseman Mason Lohrei, a healthy scratch for the last five games, will draw back into the lineup. The Bruins are on a five-game winning streak, but these injuries are likely to test the sustainability of the club’s winning ways.

Other injury notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without center Anthony Cirelli for tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals, relays Lightning team reporter Benjamin Pierce. Cirelli is managing an injury, one that caused him to leave Tampa’s last game early. Head coach Jon Cooper did note that the club is hopeful Cirelli will be able to return in time for the Lightning’s game against the New York Rangers on Wednesday, Nov. 12. Cirelli is a key two-way center for the Lightning, scoring seven goals and 11 points in 14 games so far in 2025-26 while also occupying a role on Tampa’s top penalty-kill unit. In part due to Cirelli’s strong defensive abilities, the Lightning have managed to kill penalties at a 89.4% rate so far this year, good for fourth-best in the NHL.
  • There was an encouraging development coming out of Toronto today as Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev was spotted skating for the first time since he was stretchered off the ice during the team’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 2. (Report via TSN’s Mark Masters) While there have not been any additional specifics on a recovery timeline for Tanev, the mere fact that he’s back on the ice so soon after the injury scare he suffered has to be seen as a positive sign for his readiness to play. Tanev, who has dealt with concussions in the past in his career, is a key defensive defenseman for the Maple Leafs and has averaged 17:20 time-on-ice per game this season, including 2:40 per game on the penalty kill.

Snapshots: Blackhawks, Mittelstadt, Chelios

at CDT | by 14 Comments

New Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill spoke at length to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times about his philosophy to steer the team out of its rebuild in an interview published Sunday.

That will revolve around making Chicago’s young forward group more backcheck-oriented. “The reason for that is, one, it’s a work-ethic indicator,” Blashill said, “…it’s one of the best ways to create transition offensive opportunities — by being smothering in your effort to come back as forwards. That allows your [defensemen] to gap up, create turnovers and go the other way.”

As Blashill states, that style of play should better suit one of the league’s youngest defense groups that’s heavily stocked with offensive-minded players. Doing so should help accentuate the strengths of names like 2022 No. 7 overall pick Kevin Korchinski, looking to get back on his feet after spending most of his sophomore professional season with AHL Rockford.

Blashill also clarified the responsibilities of his assistants. Anders Sorensen, staying on as an assistant after ending last season as their interim head coach, will manage the team’s defensemen. Incoming assistants Michael Peca and Mike Vellucci will both work with the forward group, while Peca oversees the penalty kill and Vellucci oversees the power play.

More from around the league this Sunday evening:

  • A tumultuous run for Casey Mittelstadt might continue. While the Bruins acquired him from the Avalanche at last year’s trade deadline in exchange for Charlie Coyle, the organization isn’t deadset on keeping him long-term and would listen to trade interest, James Murphy of RG reports. Mittelstadt was the most widely known portion of their trade return, but Boston’s focal point in the return for sending Coyle to Colorado was picking up the signing rights to forward prospect Will Zellers, a league source told Murphy. The 2024 third-rounder had 71 points in 52 games for the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers last season and will kick off his freshman year with North Dakota in a few weeks.
  • As the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star rebrands to the Shanghai Dragons, defenseman Jake Chelios won’t be staying with the team, per Anton Panchenko of Championat. The former Red Wings rearguard and son of Hall-of-Famer Chris Chelios had played for Kunlun since the 2019-20 season, ranking as the franchise’s all-time leader in games played. That was long enough for him to obtain Chinese nationality, allowing him to suit up for the country at the 2022 Winter Olympics, 2022 Division 2A World Championship, and the 2023 Division 1B World Championship. The 34-year-old had just five points and a -25 rating in 31 appearances last season, though.

Bruins, Avalanche Swap Charlie Coyle, Casey Mittelstadt

at CDT | by 19 Comments

The Avalanche are acquiring center Charlie Coyle from the Bruins, Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic reports. Center Casey Mittelstadt is headed from Colorado to Boston in the deal, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. The Bruins are also receiving forward prospect Will Zellers and a second-round pick in the deal, according to Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff. LeBrun adds the Avs are receiving a 2026 fifth-rounder along with Coyle, while the second-round pick heading to Boston is in this year’s draft.

The deal swaps middle-six centers heading in completely opposite directions. Coyle, fresh off his 33rd birthday, posted a career-high 60 points in Boston last season but has scored just 15-7–22 in 64 games this year with a career-worst -14 rating. He’s signed through next season at a $5.25MM cap hit, a big risk for the Avs if there’s no salary retention and his play can’t rebound in what’s sure to be a reduced role behind Nathan MacKinnon and yesterday’s pickup Brock Nelson down the middle.

Coyle does bring an upgrade to Colorado’s third line in terms of overall experience and past performance, which is what the Avs are banking on despite his poor showing on a thin Bruins offense this year. He also brings some slight cap savings down the line – he costs $500K less against the cap than Mittelstadt and is signed for one less season. It’s worth noting he’s been quite the playoff performer in his career, posting 25-27–52 in 119 postseason games. He’s yet to miss the playoffs, going in six straight years with Minnesota and then another six with Boston. He’ll extend it to 13 years in a row in Denver.

Boston lands a much younger pivot in Mittelstadt, who hasn’t quite reached Coyle’s 60-point pinnacle but did reach 59 and 57 points the last two seasons. He hasn’t taken nearly as large a step back as Coyle this season, but it’s still been quite the difficult season. Mittelstadt has 11-23–34 through 63 games for the Avs, who acquired him at last year’s deadline in a major swap with the Sabres for Bowen Byram. Only 25 of those points have come at even strength, he’s won just 42.4% of his faceoffs, and his relative possession impacts are the worst they’ve been in five years. He wasn’t the reliable second-line center Colorado hoped they were getting last year, so they opted to acquire the veteran Nelson and Coyle while flipping Mittelstadt less than a year after signing him to a three-year, $17.25MM deal.

The mismatch in futures heading to the Bruins from the Avs is still surprising. Mittelstadt is seven years younger than Coyle and still has 60-point potential, and he’s a skilled sniper with a nearly 12% shooting rate. While a less reliable two-way presence than Coyle, who landed Selke Trophy votes for the first time last season, his age and contract align better with Boston’s now clear plan to retool their roster over the coming years. With Trent Frederic already out the door, Mittelstadt should easily fit into a top-six role for Boston down the stretch, although his poor faceoff showings may necessitate a shift to the wing to get him that ice time.

Boston picks up a fairly intriguing prospect in the 18-year-old Zellers. Selected in the third round of last year’s draft by the Avs out of prep school Shattuck St. Mary’s, the 5’11” center/winger jumped to the United States Hockey League for major junior play this year and hasn’t disappointed. In 40 games with the Green Bay Gamblers, the speedy forward leads the team in scoring with 37-21–58. He’s the high-energy, high-scoring type of prospect sorely missing from the Bruins’ system, even if he’ll be a long-term project developmentally.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Examining Speculative Canucks Center Targets

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal of The Athletic took a look at potential trade targets for the Vancouver Canucks as they head into the NHL Trade Deadline. The Canucks have reportedly identified the center position as a spot to improve, which makes sense given that they just shipped out one of their top centers via trade. Vancouver entered the season with sky-high expectations but has had an uneven season, fueled mainly by internal issues between its top stars. However, with J.T. Miller now donning a New York Rangers jersey, the Canucks have heated up, collecting points in seven of their last eight games, despite missing star defenseman Quinn Hughes for an extended stretch.

Drance and Dayal identify Brayden Schenn of the St. Louis Blues as an ideal trade candidate for Vancouver. Darren Dreger of TSN relayed last week that the Blues are gauging the market for their captain. Schenn has significant term remaining on his contract (three years at $6.5MM), but with a rising cap, his contract is less of an issue than it would have been in years past. Schenn isn’t a high-end center but would would provide Vancouver with some offense and physical play. He’s posted 11 goals and 21 assists in 56 games this season and could be a good fit with a pass-first player like Conor Garland.

Another name that pops up is Sabres center Dylan Cozens. The 2019 seventh-overall pick has regressed this season and is on pace for just 41 points, marking a steep decline from the 68 points he posted two seasons ago. Cozens represents an interesting bounce-back candidate for Vancouver, but given that the Sabres will likely be looking for NHL-ready talent in return, Vancouver might not have the pieces to get a deal done.

One player who would carry a lower price tag is Nashville Predators center Tommy Novak. He’s spent most of his career playing sheltered minutes in a bottom-six role for Nashville. Novak could be a player who slides into the top six, but likely not for a team that considers itself a Stanley Cup contender. The 27-year-old has struggled to just 11 goals and eight assists in 45 games this season and probably doesn’t fit Vancouver’s needs.

Another intriguing player is Colorado center Casey Mittelstadt. Like Novak, Mittelstadt’s numbers are down considerably this season, and he does represent a buy-low candidate. Mittelstadt has plenty of skill, and his numbers have likely been affected by the rolling cast of characters that have been his wingers. However, he doesn’t offer much physicality or speed and may not be the best fit down the middle for the Canucks, given the style that their other centers play.

Last on the list is a skilled but injury-prone center, Josh Norris of the Ottawa Senators. Norris is not what you would call a two-way center, but he has been given challenging defensive assignments this season and has responded well while tallying 19 goals and 12 assists in 50 games. His $7.95MM cap hit could be problematic if injuries continue to take a toll on him. However, he is just 25 years old, and with a rising salary cap, it may be less of a deterrent than in previous years. The biggest issue with acquiring Norris might be his availability, as the Senators are still in the playoff picture and won’t be looking to throw in the towel as they try to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2017.

If the Canucks make a move, it will likely happen before the deadline as general manager Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford typically like to get their business done early. However, if they can’t find what they are looking for, they will be aggressive and could take this hunt right to the deadline.

Avalanche Had Interest In J.T. Miller, Fielding Calls On Casey Mittelstadt

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Avalanche remain in the market for an upgrade at center, with Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reporting Thursday they were one of the teams who submitted trade proposals to the Canucks for J.T. Miller. Their offer “never got close enough to threaten the Rangers deal,” Friedman writes. Still, he confirms a report from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff earlier in the week they’re listening to inquiries on struggling pivot Casey Mittelstadt to help facilitate an addition.

Colorado opened up a decent chunk of short-term financial flexibility when they swapped out Mikko Rantanen for Martin Nečas in last month’s blockbuster. They also managed to add some center depth in that deal by landing Jack Drury from the Hurricanes, but he doesn’t have top-six utility on a contending team. That leaves Mittelstadt, amid an underwhelming 9-23–32 scoring line in 55 games with some of the team’s worst possession impacts, as their only legitimate option to anchor the second line behind Nathan MacKinnon. His sputtering defensive play and lower volume of shots this season indicate the 26-year-old is a better fit elsewhere in the lineup or simply a better fit in another team’s system.

The Avs are hoping 20-year-old Calum Ritchie will be the long-term answer. Ritchie played seven NHL games earlier this season after a strong training camp, scoring once but posting a minus-seven rating. The 2023 first-round pick was returned to OHL Oshawa, where he leads the team with 1.83 points per game and ranks second in the league behind 2025 first-overall contender Michael Misa. He’s a top-50 prospect in the league and easily the best in the Colorado system.

But Ritchie could still need AHL adjustment time when he turns pro for good next season, and even if he doesn’t, he may be better suited for a bottom-six role out of the gate. Colorado needs a stopgap, and while they were searching for a longer-term fit in Miller, they could also look for short-term upgrades on Mittelstadt. Unfortunately, the options available to them for an in-season boost on the trade market are increasingly slim.

The only seemingly available unquestionable upgrades over Mittelstadt are the Islanders’ Brock Nelson and the Predators’ Ryan O’Reilly. There are issues with both. Despite a rash of injuries, the Isles’ recent hot streak makes it feasible for them to hold onto their pending UFA. At the same time, O’Reilly’s first tenure in Colorado ended 10 years ago with a publicly unpleasant contract saga. Nashville is treating O’Reilly like he has a no-movement clause despite not holding one in his contract, and whether the 2019 playoff MVP would be open to a return to Colorado is uncertain.

Other options available down the middle include Ryan Donato, Yanni Gourde, and Scott Laughton, but all carry risk. The latter two would be two-way upgrades over Mittelstadt, but they produce points at a lesser rate than his, which would exacerbate the Avs’ depth-scoring problem. Donato is clicking at a career-best 0.63 points per game rate with the Blackhawks but is untested in extended top-six minutes, especially at center. There’s also the Sabres’ Dylan Cozens, but he carries question marks similar to Mittelstadt’s when they acquired the latter from Buffalo at last year’s deadline.

A Mittelstadt move would likely be a separate transaction instead of Colorado leveraging him as part of an upgrade package. According to Friedman, the Devils, Maple Leafs, and Senators have “poked around” about his availability, but talks haven’t progressed past an initial stage.

Central Notes: Mittelstadt, Stars, Kealty

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Casey Mittelstadt’s first full season with the Avalanche hasn’t gone as well as anyone would have hoped.  Acquired at the trade deadline last year for Bowen Byram in a move that was intended to stabilize their center depth, the 26-year-old has instead had some struggles, notching just eight goals and 18 assists through 46 games despite logging nearly 18 minutes a night.  That has led some to wonder if the Avs might need to make a move to upgrade that spot again.  However, Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette argues that selling low on Mittelstadt probably isn’t the right move.  For starters, there aren’t many prominent middlemen expected to be made available in the coming weeks while Colorado isn’t exactly loaded with trade chips and they’d have to use some to upgrade on Mittelstadt.  Those chips might be better served being used to fill other needs so the most prudent course of action for the Avalanche may be to hope that Mittelstadt can work his way out of his first-half struggles.

More from the Central:

  • Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News spoke with (subscription link) assistant GM Mark Janko to go over the reasoning for why Tyler Seguin hasn’t been placed on LTIR just yet which boils down to them simply not needing to do so. Seguin underwent hip surgery six weeks ago, a procedure that will keep him out for at least four months and Assimakopoulos notes that the team doesn’t expect him back at the four-month mark as he’s not expected back until after the regular season.  With his absence, it’s fair to say that the Stars will be looking for some scoring depth between now and the March 7th trade deadline, especially if they eventually do move Seguin to LTIR to open up close to $10MM in extra cap space.
  • USA Hockey announced on Friday that Jeff Kealty will serve as GM for their entry into the men’s World Championship in May. He’s in his 24th season with the Predators and his seventh as their assistant GM and Scouting Director.  While he’s not an NHL GM, he’ll be working with several of them to help assemble the roster as he’ll be assisted by the U.S. Men’s National Team Advisory Group consisting of John Vanbiesbrouck and no fewer than ten active NHL general managers.

Morning Notes: Klingberg, Tanev, Mittelstadt

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Nick Barden of The Hockey News is reporting that free agent defenseman John Klingberg is close to deciding on which team he will sign with for the remainder of the season. Klingberg hasn’t played an NHL game since November 2023 and is attempting to come back after having hip resurfacing surgery. He is hoping to latch on with a contender for the rest of this season. His decision is expected in the next 2-3 days, and Klingberg’s former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, are reportedly still in the mix to sign the 32-year-old, as are a few other teams.

It was just a few years ago that Klingberg was considered a top-pairing offensive defenseman, however, those days are over, but if he is healthy Klingberg could certainly give a boost to a playoff team without costing an asset other than cap space. Through 633 NHL games, Klingberg has racked up 81 goals and 331 assists while playing with four different teams.

In other morning notes:

  • The Seattle Kraken announced last night that forward Brandon Tanev would miss their game with an apparent illness. Tye Kartye took Tanev’s spot in the lineup Thursday against Winnipeg and played just 7:12. The 33-year-old Tanev last dressed on Tuesday against Pittsburgh and played 13:14 in that game. The Kraken are back in action tomorrow night against Los Angeles and it seems likely they will have an update on Tanev before the puck drop. The Toronto, Ontario native has eight goals and seven assists in 44 games this season.
  • Colorado Avalanche forward Casey Mittelstadt has gone through a miserable slump this season and has now found himself demoted from the second-line center role and could find himself on the trade block soon (as per Avalanche reporter Adrian Deter). Mikko Rantanen took his spot in last night’s game against Edmonton, with Mittelstadt skating just 14:54 and playing on the third line. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has reportedly become unhappy with Mittelstadt’s play, after the 26-year-old looked like a true second-line center to start the season, posting 13 points in his first ten games. However, since that hot start, Mittelstadt has just 13 points in his last 36 games.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top