Colorado Avalanche Reportedly Giving Up on Former Top-10 Pick: Likely Headed to the Trade Block
Casey Mittelstadt was an intriguing pickup by the Colorado Avalanche a season ago, but now it appears the former top-10 draft pick is on his way out after a horrendous start to the 2024/25 campaign.
The Colorado Avalanche have dealt with immense injury issues this season, but their forward group has persevered and now find themselves in with a fantastic shot at making a deep Stanley Cup run in 2025.
However, there's one player that may not find himself on the roster by that point, as the team have now reportedly moved Mikko Rantanen to the 2C role, replacing Casey Mittelstadt who has now been demoted to the fourth line.
This move was seemingly made to deepen the lineup, much like the Oilers do by splitting up Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but with the demotion for Mittelstadt, it's sparked trade speculation with the 26-year old.
Now, Avalanche analyst Adrian Dater has revealed that trade speculation has long surrounded Mittelstadt, who was acquired a season ago in a deal that sent Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres.
In 46 games this season, the Minnesota native has just 8 goals and 26 points, and while that production could be seen as solid, it's not enough for the 2C on a potential juggernaut offense like Colorado.
Mittelstadt has had solid production in recent years however, posting 57 and 59 points over the last two years, but in Colorado, it's simply not enough, especially given the talent he's surrounded by.
The underlying numbers for Mittelstadt are even worse, and given that the Avalanche fixed their goaltending woes and are now in a spot to genuinely push for a Stanley Cup this season, they'll look around the league to see if anyone wants to take on the three-year, $17.25 million deal he signed ahead of this season.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Seth Jarvis | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Zach Benson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cody Glass | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Bryan Rust | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Grzelcyk | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jordan Martinook | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Anthony Beauvillier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Owen Power | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rickard Rakell | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Michael Bunting | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bowen Byram | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Victor Olofsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Dmitry Orlov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alex Pietrangelo | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Capitals | 45 | 30 | 10 | 5 | 65 | |
Jets | 46 | 31 | 12 | 3 | 65 | |
Golden Knights | 44 | 29 | 12 | 3 | 61 | |
Oilers | 45 | 29 | 13 | 3 | 61 | |
Wild | 45 | 27 | 14 | 4 | 58 | |
Maple Leafs | 46 | 28 | 16 | 2 | 58 | |
Devils | 47 | 26 | 15 | 6 | 58 | |
Stars | 44 | 28 | 15 | 1 | 57 | |
Kings | 42 | 25 | 12 | 5 | 55 | |
Hurricanes | 45 | 26 | 16 | 3 | 55 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||