Grading the Mittelstadt extension: Colorado Avalanche does well to secure young talent

As reported by many news outlets today, the Avalanche and center Casey Mittelstadt have agreed to an extension to the tune of $5.75 million average annual value over three seasons. Acquired in a deadline acquisition from the Buffalo Sabres to bolster the Avalanche second center spot, Mittelstadt played quality hockey for the club, scoring 10 points over 18 games wearing burgundy and blue.

Across 80 total games this season, Mittelstadt totaled 57 points, just two less than the previous season. His 18 total goals were the most he’s had in a season in his career to this point. Mittelstadt was even better during the playoffs for the team, scoring nine points across 11 games, with three goals and six assists.

When we look at the underlying metrics, as the analytics era has made quite an impact lately, Mittelstadt’s numbers look even better for Colorado. Albeit a small sample size, Mittelstadt had the highest Corsi For (Shots + Blocks + Misses per 60 minutes) rating of his career at 69.7 and also had the highest Fenwick For (Shots + Misses per 60 minutes) rating of his career at 50.0. Casey’s overall Corsi number per 60 minutes in all situations was 22.7, nearly seven points higher than the highest mark he’s had up to this season.

Mittelstadt’s metrics say he’s flourishing in Colorado. It’s clear that Chris MacFarland and company think the same after today’s deal. Mittelstadt is a former top ten overall pick (8th to Buffalo in 2017) who is still only 25 years old. Locking up a player of his quality in a position of need is shrewd of Colorado, especially at a reasonable price when the salary cap is expected to rise over the next few seasons too.

There’s no reason to expect this deal won’t pay off for both Mittelstadt and the Avalanche organization, and fans of the Avalanche will appreciate the move moving forward.

Grade: B+