At the 2025 NHL trade deadline, the Boston Bruins traded Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt, Will Zellers, and a 2025 second-round pick, which was used to select defenseman Liam Pettersson. Coyle's time with Colorado was short, as he was traded by the Avalanche to the Columbus Blue Jackets this off-season.
Yet, Coyle might not be the only player from Boston and Colorado's deadline trade who could end up already being on the move again. According to RG's Jimmy Murphy, an NHL executive informed him that Mittelstadt could end up being traded by the Bruins. Murphy's source also added that they believe "a lot of teams have been and are expecting the Bruins to flip him at some point."
"I don’t know how many rumors he’s been in, but I’ve been hearing [Casey] Mittelstadt could be on the move again since before the Bruins season even ended," Murphy's source said. "There was a common feeling that he wasn’t their main target when they traded for him; Zellers and the second-round draft pick were."
If the Bruins were to trade Mittelstadt, it would be notable, as he is currently one of their top centers. However, the 2017 eighth-overall pick also struggled after being traded to the Bruins, posting four goals, six points, and a minus-17 rating in 18 games. This was after he had 11 goals, 34 points, and a minus-12 rating in 63 games with the Avalanche before being traded to Boston.
While Mittelstadt is coming off a down year, the possibility of him generating interest should not be ruled out. He is still only 26 years old and has shown in recent seasons that he has the ability to be an impactful top-six forward. Just back during the 2023-24 season split between the Buffalo Sabres and Avalanche, he scored a career-high 18 goals and recorded 57 points in 80 games. This was after he scored 15 goals and set career highs with 44 assists and 59 points in 82 games with the Sabres in 2022-23.
Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see what ends up happening between Mittelstadt and the Bruins. If he starts the year in Boston, he will be looking to put together a much-needed bounce-back season.
Bruins Intriguing Forward Is Breakout Candidate To Watch
Marat Khusnutdinov left a solid first impression with the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins">Boston Bruins</a> after being acquired from the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild">Minnesota Wild</a> at the 2025 NHL trade deadline. In 18 games with the Bruins following the move, he recorded three goals, five points, and 18 hits. This was after he had two goals and seven points in 57 games with the Wild before the trade.