Short term grade: Who won the Casey Mittelstadt trade?

During the year, the Buffalo Sabres made a few in season moves. One that caught the eye of many was the trade involving Casey Mittelstadt. The March 6th trade occurred as Buffalo traded their leading scorer at the time to the Colorado Avalanche. Only time will tell if the trade pays off. For the remainder of 2024, the question is, who won the trade between Buffalo and the Avalanche?

The trade saw Mittelstadt being sent to Colorado for defenseman Bowen Byram. Before the trade, Mittelstadt had 47 points and a plus/minus of +12. Last season, he had a career high 59 points and played all 82 games. However, Buffalo felt like they had to make a change and move forward.

During the remainder of 2024 for the Avalanche, Mittelstadt had four goals and six assists in 18 games played during the regular season. In the postseason, the center added nine points during the run. In addition, he won 44% of his faceoffs in 11 games played.

Byram came out swinging for Buffalo. He scored a goal and an assist in his first game in the blue and gold in a loss against Nashville. In his third game, the defenseman added two goals in a win over Detroit.

While playing the final 18 games for the Sabres, he finished with three goals and nine assists. It seemed he added a strong presence to Buffalo's defense, and the Sabres enjoyed his physicality. He added 29 blocks and 34 hits during his end of the season tenure.

If making the postseason is the measure of the success than the winner of the trade would be Colorado. However, Mittelstadt is entering a contract year. Byram is signed through 2025 for the Sabres. Bowen also provides veteran and playoff leadership to a team in need of both. Short term, the winner was the Avalanche, the long term may be more than likely be Buffalo.