Report: Avs ship Casey Mittelstadt out for veteran center from Bruins
Mar 7, 2025, 12:25 PM | Updated: 12:34 pm
The Colorado Avalanche keep making moves, and this time they’re saying goodbye to center Casey Mittelstadt.
Avs GM Chris MacFarland has sent Mittelstadt to the Boston Bruins in exchange for veteran center Charlie Coyle. Other pieces will also reportedly be involved, including a second-round draft pick from the Avs and prospect Will Zellers.
It’s MacFarland’s eighth trade this season, including the big addition of Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
News of the Mittelstadt for Coyle swap was reported less than an hour before the NHL’s trade deadline.
That BOS/COL deal
To COL: Charlie Coyle, 5th 2026
To BOS: Casey Mittelstadt, Will Zellers, 2nd 2025— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 7, 2025
Mittelstadt was acquired by Colorado around this time last year for defenseman Bowen Byram. He even received a three-year contract extension from the Avs over the summer, worth nearly $6 million a season.
But this year the production hasn’t been there, as the 26-year-old has 11 goals in 63 games. That’s not the kind of total head coach Jared Bednar and MacFarland were looking for out of a second-line center.
So instead, Nelson is the new leader of that line and Coyle will slot in as Colorado’s third-line center. In 64 games with the Bruins this season Coyle has 15 goals and seven assists, good for 22 points. Last year he had 25 goals and 35 assists, while Boston put up 109 points. This year the Bruins are struggling with just 64 points, hence why Coyle was available.
Casey Mittelstadt struggled without Valeri Nichushkin in the lineup, and had picked it up with two goals in his last four games since Nichushkin returned from injury. But that wasn’t enough for MacFarland to swap him out for Coyle.
The 33-year-old Coyle, who’s also played with the Wild in his 13-year career, has one more year on his contract next season and is due to make $5.25 million.
MacFarland is clearly pushing all his chips towards another Stanley Cup this season. And it’s been a wild ride full of huge trades, including two goalie ones and sending Mikko Rantanen out of town.
Now, barring anything crazy at the 1:00 p.m. MT trade deadline buzzer, the Avalanche roster that will pursue that championship is finally set.
