Colorado Avalanche send Mittelstadt to Boston Bruins in second major deadline trade

The Colorado Avalanche pulled off their second significant move in less than 24 hours by moving center Casey Mittelstadt to the Boston Bruins for reliable veteran center Charlie Coyle. Coyle’s name wasn’t as prominent in Bruins’ trade talk this trade deadline season. But after the Bruins fell out of contention, it appeared everyone was on the block in Boston.

Mittelstadt arrived in Colorado from the Buffalo Sabres at last year’s trade deadline for Bowen Byram. The Colorado Avalanche had high hopes for Mittelstadt, eventually signing him to a three-year, $17.25 million deal.

However, Mittelstadt has fallen short of expectations, failing to become the number two center behind all-world forward Nathan MacKinnon. With Colorado adding Brock Nelson late Thursday night, Mittelstadt became expendable.

As for Coyle, he fits a need at the 3C spot. With MacKinnon on the top line and Nelson on the second unit, Coyle becomes a perfect fit. The 33-year-old is in the fifth year of a six-year deal, carrying an AAV of $5.25 million.

In essence, the Avalanche and Bruins swap cap hits, but get much different players. The Avalanche now have arguably the league’s deepest center group, while the Bruins get a younger player who could be crucial in their retool/rebuild moving forward.

This deal is another major coup for the Avalanche as they were able to get out from Mittelstadt without selling low on him. Plus, the Avalanche fill a positional need as they look to counter the other Central Division juggernauts in this playoff season.

Looking at full trade details of Colorado Avalanche trade with Boston Bruins

The deal involving Casey Mittelstadt and Charlie Coyle involved several other pieces. The Avs received a 2026 fifth-round pick along with Coyle. Meanwhile, the Bruins got a 2025 second-round pick and William Zellers.

In addition to Mittelstadt, the real key to this trade is Zellers. He’s an 18-year-old winger who projects to be a tough forward to play against. He was the Avalanche’s third-round pick last year. He’s spent this season in the USHL putting up 58 points in 40 games.

Zellers will be heading the NCAA next season with the University of North Dakota. As such, it’s unlikely the Bruins will see much of Zellers in the next couple of seasons. While he may get a look at training camp next fall, Zellers will head back to college.

If Zellers blossoms into the playmaking whiz that scouting reports projects, the Bruins could have themselves quite the steal. Otherwise, Zellers could end up becoming a bottom-six forward at best.

The draft picks swapped are just the cost of doing business. The second-rounder is an acknowledgment by Colorado that Boston is doing them a favor by taking Mittelstadt off their hands. It remains to be seen if Mittelstadt can find his stride in Boston amid the impending retool Boston will go through this upcoming offseason.