The Colorado Avalanche are in a state of limbo over the past few weeks. While the team is occupying the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, their roster has taken a huge hit with the trade of Mikko Rantanen. They still have the reigning league MVP in Nathan MacKinnon, Norris Trophy-winner Cale Makar, and their recently extended starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, but the rest of their roster is seemingly available for trade if the right deal comes to fruition.
One of the Avalanche players continuing to churn through the rumor mill is center Casey Mittelstadt. The 26-year-old American-born forward is in his first full season with Colorado, but there's a growing sense that his stint with the Avs won't last much longer. He looked perfectly suited for the role as the second-line center in the 2024 regular season and postseason, but that's not been the case this year, and the Avalanche may look to deal him in an effort to make another Stanley Cup run.
In a recent article from Matt Larkin of The Daily Faceoff, the trade speculation only grew surrounding the Colorado forward. He wrote about the struggles Mittelstadt's faced in his second season with the Avs, and suggested that there are seven different trade destinations to keep an eye on. Among the organizations he named was the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, and Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference. He also named some Western Conference squads like the Calgary Flames, Minnesoa Wild and Winnipeg Jets.
Larkin's recent report was further speculation, but where there's smoke, there's fire. That's certainly been the case in the NHL this season. All of the biggest trades this year involving JT Miller and Mikko Rantanen were discussed as possibilities for weeks before the deals went down. The Avalanche may opt to retain Mittelstadt for the 2025 run, but there's a chance that another major deal involving Colorado happens before this year's NHL Trade Deadline.
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