Earlier today, the Sabres dealt Dylan Cozens to the Ottawa Senators, ensuring one of their former first-round picks would be suiting up for a division rival. Later on Friday, another former first-round pick of the Sabres found himself on an airplane back to the East Coast.
This player is one you could consider a late-bloomer, as his first few seasons in Buffalo were injury-riddled and he lacked overall productivity. But he got it together late in 2022-23, even if it wasn’t enough to earn a contract extension.
General manager Kevyn Adams traded him in 2024, and now, he’s on the move once again. If you’ve been following, you’ll know that the player I’m talking about is none other than Casey Mittelstadt. His career seemed to be on the up and up when Adams traded him, but it turned out to be a bad acquisition for Colorado.
Sabres can officially claim victory in the Casey Mittelstadt trade
Yeah, bragging rights, considering where the Sabres are in the Eastern Conference standings when compared to where the Avalanche stand. Still, they got who is now looking like a long-term asset in Bowen Byram in that deal while Mittelstadt is on a plane to Boston.
Interest in Mittelstadt grew when the back half of his 2022-23 campaign saw him finish the season with 15 goals and 59 points. Fast-forward to 2023-24, and he was sitting at 47 points and 14 goals before Adams sent him to Denver.
And for a while, Mittelstadt looked like a good fit, with 10 points and four goals in 18 contests. He added another three goals and nine points in 11 playoff games, and he showed some grit with 16 hits. But, Mittelstadt reverted to his mediocre self this season.
Casey Mittelstadt struggled through a very average year before trade
Mittelstadt’s numbers weren’t impressive, as he finished his 63-game stretch this season with 11 goals and 34 points. Not awful numbers, but on a high-octane team like the Avalanche and top-six minutes, everybody expected better results here.
Now, he’s going on to the Boston Bruins, a team that just traded the face of its franchise, Brad Marchand, to the Florida Panthers. The Avs also sent Will Zellers and a second-round pick in a trade that brought in Charlie Coyle and a fifth-rounder for 2026.
With so many names leaving the Bruins, Mittelstadt will find himself as part of this team’s retooling project. We’ll see if he can discover the same magic in Boston that he channeled during his waning days with the Sabres, a team he’ll be getting familiar with once again.