It’s possible that the Colorado Avalanche stay put with the roster they currently have. It’s also possible that they are not finished wheeling and dealing. In fact, I could see them reaching out to a team in the worst team in the Atlantic Division.
That team is the Buffalo Sabres, who have the third-least amount of points of all teams in the league with 53 in 58 games played. The Sabres are in rebuild mode and are willing to take calls from other teams for their players. JJ Peterka could be a target for the Avalanche.
The catch is, the Sabres could ask for a good amount for Peterka, who is on their first line as the left wing. My proposal? Send Casey Mittelstadt back to Buffalo, along with some high-to-mid-round draft pick. The reason for adding a draft pick in the deal is because of Mittelstadt’s contract. His cap hit for the season is $5,750,000.
Due to his production this season (17 goals and 28 assists in 58 games), I wouldn’t be surprised if Buffalo’s asking price is steep.
The appeal for the Sabres would be that Mittelstadt used to play in Buffalo for the team and he could potentially revive his career over where he started. It unfortunately just has been a down year for Mittelstadt in Colorado. While he did recently score a goal, there’s no telling if he can feed off of that in the future. The trade deadline is approaching very fast.
Now, the Avalanche just traded away Calvin de Haan and Juuso Parssinen for Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey. Lindgren is a defenseman but Vesey is a forward. It’s possible that they want to see how the new additions play before making another call to trade someone, but Mittelstadt’s name has been thrown around for quite a while now as someone who could use a reset.
The 2025 trade deadline is this upcoming Friday, March 7th. We could see plenty of moves made across the entire NHL, and it would be fun to see the Avalanche be aggressive if they feel inclined to be.
Who knows? Maybe the addition of Valeri Nichushkin back into the lineup after being out since December 31 is the only boost they need going forward. The team played pretty awesome in the two games following his return into the lineup. Colorado has two games between now and the trade deadline—against the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks.