Colorado Avalanche go huge at the trade deadline with Walker, Mittelstadt deals

Well, that was an interesting afternoon, wasn’t it?

Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland has increasingly taken some heat from people on the internet as the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets upgraded their rosters with quality players at acceptable trade prices and the Avs stood pat despite struggling to keep up in the Central Division standings.

Following last year’s conservative deadline work where Colorado only added Lars Eller, there was a growing sentiment that MacFarland just may not do very much to address the clear flaws on this year’s Avalanche roster.

That sentiment was proven quite incorrect two days before the trade deadline as MacFarland rocked the playoff race with two huge moves, first with the Philadelphia Flyers and then with the Buffalo Sabres.

The first deal brought the Avs defenseman Sean Walker and a 2026 fifth-round pick in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick and forward Ryan Johansen.

The first is the real prize for the Flyers as they continue balancing their rebuild with a prioritization on culture (see: re-signing Nick Seeler today) as they continue stockpiling future assets. Johansen was immediately waived by the Flyers and will be reassigned to their AHL club if he clears tomorrow, which he is expected to because of the $4M salary he is on the books for next year.

Colorado’s other deal was the sticker-shock deal of the day (at least so far) around the NHL as they sent defenseman Bowen Byram to Buffalo (Bofallo?) in exchange for center Casey Mittelstadt.

This is the kind of young player blockbuster that you just do not see in the NHL very often. There are no draft picks to hedge bets on value and it’s two teams trying to balance out their roster needs by pulling from a surplus at a position to address a deficit.

Buffalo has an impressive stockpile of quality young forwards but has also already committed long-term contracts to Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens, the two centers expected to bring the Sabres back to the postseason…someday. That left Mittelstadt likely on the outs this summer when his contract expires and he has arbitration rights and will be looking for a hefty raise from his current $2.5M salary following what will likely be back-to-back 50-point seasons (he sits at 47 right now).

The Avs needed a center on their second line following the failed experiment with Johansen and went and got a productive one who won’t be asked to shoulder a heavy load in Denver. The holes in Mittelstadt’s game are papered over by the roster he will be joining. Speaking of which…

How does Casey Mittelstadt help? Who is he?

Mittelstadt is just 25, had a breakout year for the Sabres with a 59-point season, and was Buffalo’s leading scorer this year, albeit with only 47 points (13G, 34A).

Here are the fancies I always drop in here, so look at what a solid player they say he is.

Mittelstadt has produced strong defensive results while playing alongside good players but has been a strong offensive player, too, even though he doesn’t drive a ton of play and isn’t going to be a great goal-scorer.

Where he excels is as a playmaker for those around him. Once he actually arrives in Denver, Mittelstadt will have a combination of Jonathan Drouin, Mikko Rantanen, Valeri Nichushkin, and Artturi Lehkonen as his likely linemates.

It’s not a huge step up but should be an improvement from his most common linemates in Buffalo, which were Jordan Greenway, Jeff Skinner, Alex Tuch, and J.J. Peterka. Those aren’t bad linemates, but Greenway and Peterka are both better suited in checking roles and Mittelstadt should be on a scoring line. Now, he should be, and in a primarily 5v5 role that will better suit him.

Alongside one of Nichushkin or Lehkonen, potentially both, he could be free to roam with his playmaking amid additional opportunities from two of the league’s most ferocious puckhounds.

Mittelstadt’s production is also largely a product of his 5v5 play and not a guy who feasts on power play chances to generate points. With the Avs power play pretty set, he will probably be a second-unit guy but if he can translate that same maturity in his 5v5 play to Colorado, his production could spike even more.

While Mittelstadt isn’t a high-octane skater, he doesn’t present the same challenges Johansen did where he just could not keep up with Colorado’s pace and was a complete misfit. It’s something to keep an eye on in terms of Mittelstadt contributing at a high level with the Avs, but the skating data doesn’t appear prohibitive.

I’ll save the contract stuff for this summer, but a quick look at his situation would suggest he’s in line for something in the neighborhood of a five-year deal in the $6.5M AAV range. That’s the expectation I have for now but that can change significantly based on his success or failure in the postseason in particular. A strong playoff run could boost those numbers even more. He has arbitration rights so this could be an interesting contract for the Avs.

Colorado will have Mittelstadt’s rights for two more years before he is able to test the open market, so that’s an extra layer of security if the two sides can’t find their way to a deal.

Great. What about Walker? Why him?

Walker is an interesting guy because the strengths of his game were more muted in his previous tenure with the Los Angeles Kings. They played a slower, more methodical pace than the frenetic rush attack he has enjoyed with the Flyers this season.

In a contract year and with the freedom to attack up the ice, Walker’s game has found a new level. It’s not so much in the points production, which is still fine for a second-pairing defenseman as he has 22 points (6G, 16A) in 63 games so far, but it’s the way he utilizes his skating as a weapon with and without the puck that stands out.

Let’s hit some fancies.

He was a functional, sound player for the Kings but in a rush-oriented attack in Philly, Walker’s game found a new level entirely. His two-way game has blossomed and he was going to be one of the more attractive pending free agents at this trade deadline.

The fit in Colorado is excellent and this acquisition will draw a lot of comparisons to when the Avs landed Devon Toews from the New York Islanders a few years ago. I’m not sure it’s going to go that well (that would be an unfair expectation to set), but Walker in Colorado could be an excellent addition with his skating and offensive instincts.

None of this is to say he’s a bad defender as you can see that he has strong isolated impacts defensively, too, but that it isn’t necessarily the calling card of his game. He’s been one of the league’s elite penalty-killing defenders this season and should be a meaningful addition to that part of the game for the Avalanche.

He’s a jack-of-all-trades type of player who doesn’t possess great size but isn’t afraid to defend hard, as we saw in his time with the Kings. He’s never been given as much responsibility as he’s likely to get in Colorado. At 29, he’s nearing the end of his prime but a good run with the Avs could be enough to convince the Avs to find a way to keep him before he gets to market this summer.

In exchange for a first-round pick, he will carry expectations as a guy who needs to play well, but he fits the profile of what Colorado looks for from their defensemen. In the immediate, he’s a surefire upgrade on the frustrating inconsistency the Avs got from Byram this year so it should be an improvement to their defense whenever he gets here.

So we’re excited about these trades?

We’ll have more on these deals and anything else the Avs might do as the week goes on, including some film work and a look at what the summer outlook could be for both players and how they fit into Colorado’s long-term plans.

Today, at this moment, I think it is undeniable that the Avalanche improved their center and defense spots for this season’s playoff push and could have added two players who might help for more than just this year’s chase for the Stanley Cup.

It was a strong statement from MacFarland and Co. that they aren’t looking to waste an MVP-caliber season from Nathan MacKinnon.