Trade talks are picking up around Colorado Avalanche centre Casey Mittelstadt. While the Toronto Maple Leafs are in the market for a middle-six centre, GM Brad Treliving should be looking elsewhere.
Mittelstadt’s been ranked as high as #5 on Daily Faceoff’s Trade Targets list. The 26-year-old enters the two-week 4 Nations Face-Off break recording nine goals and 32 points in 57 games this year for the Avs, averaging 17:10 of ice time per game. Mittelstadt is signed for two more seasons at $5.75 million AAV and doesn’t have trade protection on his contract until the final year, 2026-27. With Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland looking to continue his re-tool in Colorado, Mittelstadt’s name has been making the rounds as a very likely player out of Mile High to get moved.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has mentioned numerous times this season the Leafs are looking to add up front, and recently on a 32 Thoughts podcast episode, Friedman directly linked the Maple Leafs to the Avalanche, regarding Mittelstadt. “I think Toronto’s got a wish list that they are working through. And, I think it’s a combination of a) how much do they like the player, and b) what’s it going to cost to get that player.”
“I think they’re going to do something. I think part of this is, they know, as long as certain options are still available, they can circle back on some of them,” Friedman continued. “They don’t have a first-round pick this year, next year’s draft is better than this year’s, that’s a concern for them, they’d like to keep next year’s first-rounder…Casey Mittelstadt’s name is out there. Believe New Jersey, Ottawa and Toronto poked around, but not with much traction.”
While Mittelstadt performed well in his first Stanley Cup Playoff appearance last year, with nine points in 11 games, and he’s had a decent start to the 2024-25 campaign, Treliving and the Maple Leafs have much better options who are much better suited for Toronto’s lineup.
Mittelstadt would not complement the Leafs down the middle. He plays a very offensive-focused game, looking to distribute the puck more times than not, and he’s been very ineffective in the faceoff circle. The 26-year-old pivot has won just 41.7% of his draws this season and has never really been close to being over 50% throughout his career. Also, Mittelstadt’s style of play doesn’t mesh well with a Craig Berube system. He’s landed just 22 hits this season and has never recorded more than 30 in a year. That’s not playoff-style hockey. The Leafs can’t have Auston Matthews and John Tavares down the middle and round out their middle-six with a centre who doesn’t engage physically, doesn’t kill penalties, and is essentially, statistically speaking, a more expensive version of Max Domi.
Maple Leafs have better-suited options as the market heats up
While Mittelstadt was one time one of the league’s top prospects and had serious untapped potential to consider, he’s not a good fit for the Maple Leafs, and that’s ok, because the centre market is loaded with intriguing talent. Reports have surfaced stating Toronto has checked in on Philadelphia Flyers centre Scott Laughton, someone who plays a much different style than Mittelstadt, and one that’s more aligned with Berube’s coaching style.
The St. Louis Blues are listening to offers on captain Brayden Schenn, and while the asking price will be significant, paying more for Schenn is going to be a better strategy for the Leafs to round out their top three lines and add a centre who brings more ‘battle’ to the ice, and can help out in all situations. Schenn is over 50% in the faceoff circle, he’s posted 32 points in 56 games, plays both sides of special teams, and has landed 141 hits. The familiarity with Berube also pushes the Blues’ captain leaps and bounds past Mittelstadt when it comes to ideal trade candidates.
Some other centres who have been linked to trade rumours include Ryan Donato in Chicago, who Friedman suggests could end up in Canada before the trade deadline on March 7, there’s also Dylan Cozens in Buffalo, who checks a ton of boxes for the Leafs, Luke Kunin in San Jose, who is more of a 3C option, and a wild-card option in Jake Evans in Montreal. A rare Leafs/Canadiens trade would certainly turn some heads before the deadline, as Evans and his checking style could fit in nicely within the Leafs’ bottom six.
As the 4 Nations Face-Off break is upon us, and the trade talks continue throughout the league, it will be interesting to see how many trades go down, now that GMs across the league can bunker down at home and make some calls. As far as Treliving and the Maple Leafs go, there are some really good options to upgrade their roster down the middle of the ice before the deadline, adding Mittelstadt from the Avalanche isn’t one of them.
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