Reaction: Sabres Trade Casey Mittelstadt to Avalanche for Bowen Byram
The Buffalo Sabres trade forward Casey Mittelstadt to the Colorado Avalanche for defenseman Bowen Byram. Adam Proteau reacts.
NHL teams continue to make moves in advance of the league’s March 8 trade deadline.
In one of the bigger deals, the Buffalo Sabres moved forward Casey Mittlestadt to the Colorado Avalanche in return for defenseman Bowen Byram. The swap, which no one foresaw, moves two young players – Mittlestadt is 25 years old, while Byram is 22.
Mittlestadt was rumored to be on the trade block, and with 33 assists and 47 points in 61 games, he will definitely help boost Colorado’s top-six group of forwards. Meanwhile, Byram – who has 12 assists and 20 points in 55 games – solidifies the Sabres’ top-four defensemen group along with young stars Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin.
Mittlestadt has a $2.5-million salary, and he’s an RFA at the end of this season. Byram has a $3.85-million cap hit that lasts through the 2024-25 campaign when he’ll be an RFA.
Mittlestadt and Byram are under team control for the foreseeable future, so Sabres and Avalanche management felt comfortable moving a key youngster in this deal.
Buffalo takes a bit of a hit on offense, while Colorado takes a bit of a hit on defense, but this had to be a talent-in, talent-out deal rather than a trade for draft picks and prospects.
Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland knows he can immediately slot Mittlestadt into a top-six forward role. Colorado's other deal Wednesday for Flyers defenseman Sean Walker shipped out veteran center Ryan Johansen, so Mittlestadt instantly becomes the Avs' second-line center.
On the other side of the deal, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams knows he has three defense pairings that can match up well against just about every NHL team.
The money involved with this transaction is relatively the same, and even after the deal, the Avalanche have $4.9 million in cap space, while the Sabres have $33.5 million in cap space. That means both teams can still be in the market to make more moves by or before the deadline.
As teams continue to try to add talent by Friday, GMs clearly want to strike quickly and not wait until the 3 p.m. ET deadline to get deals done. They want to strike while the iron is hot, and MacFarland and Adams found a way to give each other what they were looking for with this move.
It will be intriguing to see if the Avalanche and Sabres will strike again on the trade front, but even if they're done, you can say the trade deadline has been a success for Buffalo and Colorado. Each team is walking away with a young player who can contribute now and in the long term at an above-average level. Mittlestadt and Byram may not be elite competitors, but they still have the potential to grow their game and make the Avs and Sabres happy they consummated this deal.