Buffalo Sabres get: Defenseman Bowen Byram
Colorado Avalanche get: Center Casey Mittelstadt
Eric Duhatschek: Here’s a rare sighting at the NHL trade deadline, an actual bona-fide hockey trade that has implications for this year and then down the road.
Let’s start with Colorado, though, because the Avalanche are a Stanley Cup favorite that had a gaping hole down the middle. The thought was they’d fill it with a rental — and then all of the rentals started disappearing from the market, with Adam Henrique the latest to go, on Wednesday to Edmonton. So instead, they turned to Buffalo for Mittlestadt. On the one hand, it’s a bit of a risk. He has zero playoff experience in six seasons in the NHL. On the other hand, he’s 25 now, a player with a great draft pedigree (No. 8 in 2017), who finally had his breakthrough season a year ago (59 points in 82 games).
This season, when many of Buffalo’s top forwards (Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner, Alex Tuch) all struggled to match last year’s production, partly because of injuries, Mittelstadt has been a steady, constant producer. More playmaker than scorer, he’s at 47 points in 62 games, which made him the Sabres’ leading scorer. It’s easy to imagine a scenario in which Mittelstadt slides neatly into the second-line center role, especially since the Avalanche got Philadelphia to take Ryan Johansen off their hands in the trade for Sean Walker.
Mittelstadt doesn’t play with nearly the same snarl as Nazem Kadri, who filled that role so admirably on the Avalanche’s 2022 Cup-winning team, but his skill should mesh with whatever wingers coach Jared Bednar opts to play him with. Valeri Nichushkin is due back sometime soon and who knows, maybe even Gabriel Landeskog makes an attempt to get back for the playoffs.
Mostly though what you like about what Colorado did here by making two parallel moves that upgrade its forward group without sacrificing too much present-day value on the blue line. Losing Byram isn’t ideal, but he was never going to be a top-two defenseman with the Avs, playing behind Cale Makar and Devon Toews. But the Avs were not so deep on the blue line that they couldn’t use help — hence the simultaneous acquisition of Walker from the Flyers, someone who they can plug into their top four and eat up Byram’s minutes.
Effectively, with Mittelstadt and Walker in and Byram and Johansen out, that’s a vastly different look for the Avs and a greatly improved roster on paper.
As for the Sabres, they get a player who’s two years younger than Mittelstadt but came with a similarly great draft pedigree — No. 4 in 2019. Byram is in his fourth full NHL season, and he’s never played more games than the 55 he’s gotten into this year. Injuries, particularly concussions, have greatly undermined his development, though if he stays healthy, this is a swing worth taking by GM Kevyn Adams, who arguably is assembling one of the best young group of defensemen in the league, if you factor in Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson.
The Sabres have already made long-term salary commitments to Thompson and Dylan Cozens at center, so they were in a position to move on from Mittelstadt. Ultimately, if you win with defense, then at some point, you can imagine Buffalo getting it together. It didn’t happen this year. But those blue-chip pieces on the blue line make you think, maybe it can happen next year.
Colorado: A+
Buffalo: B
Mittelstadt was the Sabres’ leading scorer with 47 points in 62 games. (Timothy T. Ludwig / USA Today)
Corey Pronman: Byram has been a very good pro so far in his career although he hasn’t become a true standout at either end. Byram is an elite skater. He has excellent edge work, can make even the quickest NHL forwards miss with his elusiveness and is quite dangerous attacking off the offensive blue line. He has very good skill as well, although the pure offense in his game hasn’t been amazing as a pro. His hockey sense is fine, but he’s not a true top-end playmaker. He’s an average sized defender, but with his high-end skating and good enough compete he should be a solid long-term defender. The issue with Byram has been consistent injuries throughout his pro career that has put some doubt on how well he handles the physical vigor of NHL hockey. I like the upside still in his game and see a long-term top pair defenseman even if he hasn’t been that consistently on a top NHL team. I would be a little worried about his medicals though if I were Buffalo even though I think he’s the better player in this deal.
Mittelstadt has become an excellent NHL center after an up-and-down start to his pro career. He is a player with elite puck handling skills. He is a very creative playmaker who can run a power play from the flank and create a ton of scoring chances at even strength. His skating is just OK and he’s not an overly physical player either, but he is a legit top NHL forward due to how much offense he creates. In Colorado, he can slide very well in the top six whether on the wing or as the second-line center. I don’t know if the Avalanche got the best long-term asset, but today they are a better team than they were yesterday as they attempt to win another Stanley Cup. Between Makar, Toews, Samuel Girard and Byram, Colorado was always going to be hard-pressed to pay all four of them. I always thought Girard was going to be the odd man out, but it ended up being Byram.
Colorado: B-
Buffalo: B+
(Photo of Bowen Byram: Jamie Sabau / USA Today)
