Confirmed Trade: [COL/BUF] Casey Mittelstadt for Bowen Byram

[Dirty Dog]

Not at the moment. He's paired with Jokiharju as his right hand side partner. He can, and has, but he is not right now.

Due to injuries, right? My memory he was mainly playing right side until Samuelsson got hurt, leaving a hole at LD in the top 4?

 

[HaNotsri]

AVS got hosed. My condolences to Avalanche fans.

Byram is a #1 defenseman on most teams. You dangle Byram and you can't even get Cozens?

Girard for Middlestadt should have been enough.

Mittelstadt is way better than Cozens.

 

[KrakenSabresMike]

Casey is at the peak of what he will be currently, I am going to save that for the future. I wonder if you thought the same thing about Reinhart when he was traded at the ripe old age of 26

I have watched the Sabres play plenty and this was not a good trade. Yes there is a chance Byram turns out assuming he can stay healthy (big assumption there).

Seems. Like you’re just going to disagree with me no matter if I am the person who actually watches every game the Sabres play. There is a definite reason this trade was made and yes, he will look better on Colorado… Guess why? they are significantly better team than Buffalo! Shocker!

Unless you can list me all of the prospects in this sabres system and why they have multiple people in the queue that will fill the slot for less than $7 million a year that case he was going to get. Then I think your point is decent but I completely disagree with you.

I can tell you those players… And why this makes sense. Including why most of the people in Buffalo media are also saying it makes a lot of sense and that it’s a good trade.

Sabres have too many players that play the same way and they have a major gap on defense coming through. This trade feels major hole in their organization. The whole of one more young, and upcoming top 4 defenseman. They also don’t need him to be a number 1D.

Mittelstadt is way better than Cozens.

You’re joking right? Compare Casey at the same age to Dylan and then tell me what you see…

 

[Czechboy]

Big win for the Avs IMO. Not smart for Buffalo getting yet another mobile LD when they need experience and defensively responsible players both at forward (where Mittelstadt could be thought of as their best 2-way forward) and on defense (where Byram's fancy stats on a much better team have been kind of ass). Buffalo does the usual and gets younger when they need to be looking at finding vets and evening out their performances to actually operate as pros. They dealt one of the guys who did that and for someone who is a lot of potential.

Byram is a nice player. If they didn't already have the Dahlin and Power tandem as left shooting defense, I'd be more interested. There is the possibility that they plug one of them in on the right side (Dahlin) with Byram on left at the moment. Or they move Power over there and try him with Byram, though the guy needs someone who is a lot more defensively responsible and more engaged around the net than what I have seen of Byram to balance out Power's deficiencies.

If it's a two-stage deal, with say Power going somewhere this summer, it's not like Power has pumped his value with how his 2nd season has gone. Either way, looks like a talent loss, especially without there being anything more than just Byram in the deal. Colorado had a need and they still managed to not have to dig nearly deep enough to get a quality 2C.

I didn't realize you already had two solid LD. Feels like a 2 parter.

Sounds like an odd move. Sorry.

 

[Irie]

It seems weird indeed, not sure I get the rationalr for BUF

Mittelstadt was a cap casualty. Plain and simple.

In a vacuum, the value is fairly close, but like you said, it doesn't make a ton of sense from a positional need for the Sabres.

Unfortunately, having Skinner making 9M, Dahlin making 11M, Adams giving Power 8+ million (for some reason), and then signing Cozens and Tage Thompson each to 7M+ deals, the team couldn't afford another high priced forward and still fill out their bottom 6, and Mitts deserves to be paid.

 

[keglu]

Buffalo is smart on selling high on Casey when he's riding high. The chances of Mittelstadt repeating this season is slim to none.

It still should have been Byram for Cozen's though.

He was producing at similair rate last season with 2min less ice time.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Out of nowhere it seems.

Why Buffalo feels the need to get younger I’m not sure but I’m here for it

 

[Chainshot]

Due to injuries, right? My memory he was mainly playing right side until Samuelsson got hurt, leaving a hole at LD in the top 4?

I didn't realize you already had two solid LD. Feels like a 2 parter.

Sounds like an odd move. Sorry.

With Adams' relative lack of ability to get anything done of significance, I also question what he's going to do now considering his big summer was in making sure he extended both of those LHD.

 

[HaNotsri]

Seems. Like you’re just going to disagree with me no matter if I am the person who actually watches every game the Sabres play. There is a definite reason this trade was made and yes, he will look better on Colorado… Guess why? they are significantly better team than Buffalo! Shocker!

Unless you can list me all of the prospects in this sabres system and why they have multiple people in the queue that will fill the slot for less than $7 million a year that case he was going to get. Then I think your point is decent but I completely disagree with you.

I can tell you those players… And why this makes sense. Including why most of the people in Buffalo media are also saying it makes a lot of sense and that it’s a good trade.

Sabres have too many players that play the same way and they have a major gap on defense coming through. This trade feels major hole in their organization. The whole of one more young, and upcoming top 4 defenseman. They also don’t need him to be a number 1D.


You’re joking right? Compare Casey at the same age to Dylan and then tell me what you see…

Cozens is a really good winger but to flawed defensively to work as a center. Mittelstadt is way more complete and I think he'll continue to grow Reinhart style.
Our center depth is atrocious. Now they'll put Savoie in or something dumb just like when we traded ROR years ago and played Mittelstadt in his place... I hate this team.

 

[JoeSakic13]

If that is true, it means you have effectively traded a first round pick and Bowen Byram for Sean Walker and a 5th round pick.

Nah, that’s not how trade trees work.

 

[Foppberg]

IF

Yep, that was the first two letters of my post.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Isn't Byram essentially one concussion away from retirement? I'm actually surprised anyone traded for him even if he's very talented.

Very interesting trade. Not sure how Byram will hold up moving into the much more physical East.

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

Doesn't this wildly mess with Colorado's Blue line?

I think that’s why they picked up Walker

 

[Foppberg]

Isn't Byram essentially one concussion away from retirement? I'm actually surprised anyone traded for him even if he's very talented.

Very interesting trade. Not sure how Byram will hold up moving into the much more physical East.

Um..

 

[Dubi Doo]

He is clearly not better than Thompson, and Cozens has much higher upside. 3C on the Sabres (He has not been playing as 3C most of the season due to various reasons).

This year, he IS clearly better than Thompson.

 

[aufheben]

I don’t understand how the Sabres run things.

 

[PunchImlach is Alive]

Just thought about this trade again. I hate you, Kevyn Adams. I know you are reading this and I just want you to know that's how I feel.

 

[Djp]

Mittlestadt career high is 59 points and is pacing for 62 points this season.

You would have thought they traded the second coming of Perreault.

I get why Buffalo didn’t want to commit 7 years at likely 7 or 8 million a season for a 60 point center.

My thoughts.....

On the surface Mittlestadt for Byram is fair but I do have concerns on byram and he is one concussion away from being done.

After this year he has 3 yrs of team control left where hed be a UFA in 2027. That gives them some cap control

I think something else happens

 

[Faceboner]

Mittelstadt is a glorified rental. He is going to be an arbitration eligible RFA this summer with the production to demand a 5-6 year deal at $5-6M AAV.

There's really no distinction between arb eligible RFA and UFA status anymore. When you look at it this way, Byram is actually a pretty damn good return.

At first I was baffled but thinking it over it was a hockey trade it just stung to see mitts let go after he blossomed into a two way playmaking forward who fights in every puck battle but our d-core should be stacked for the foreseeable future I feel like Byram will do better in buffalo because of the lot of high end depth we have coming up that Colorado lacked after the big contracts from the cup run.

 

[Beerz]

What do you expect from a guy that spells Kevin with a Y

 

[dirtydanglez]

I don’t understand how the Sabres run things.

its the owners running the hockey side instead of the front office. the same thing happened with the islanders with wang.

 

[thelimit39]

He's 25 so yah he is young. If your so called 3rd like center is a leading your team in points and good on the defensive side of the puck then maybe you should re-evaluate whether he should be the 3rd line guy.

Another good strategy trade him so that is opens up room for a young player that Buffalo hopes develops into a player as good as Middelstadt.

It's a choice between a boat and a mystery box. A boat is a boat but a box could be anything, even a boat.

A mystery box...plus Byram.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Um..

Um, what? I have the same worry for Chytil on my own team. These dudes both have soup brains right now.

I can't fathom someone trading for Chytil. Ever. Even if he plays 82 games next year.

Colorado did very well on this deal.

 

[tucker3434]

Mittelstadt is a glorified rental. He is going to be an arbitration eligible RFA this summer with the production to demand a 5-6 year deal at $5-6M AAV.

There's really no distinction between arb eligible RFA and UFA status anymore. When you look at it this way, Byram is actually a pretty damn good return.

I think I’d be happy to permanently plug the 2c hole with a 25 year old $5-6m 60 point player. Been a black hole for us since Kadri left.

 

[Go Wings]

Seems. Like you’re just going to disagree with me no matter if I am the person who actually watches every game the Sabres play. There is a definite reason this trade was made and yes, he will look better on Colorado… Guess why? they are significantly better team than Buffalo! Shocker!

Unless you can list me all of the prospects in this sabres system and why they have multiple people in the queue that will fill the slot for less than $7 million a year that case he was going to get. Then I think your point is decent but I completely disagree with you.

I can tell you those players… And why this makes sense. Including why most of the people in Buffalo media are also saying it makes a lot of sense and that it’s a good trade.

Sabres have too many players that play the same way and they have a major gap on defense coming through. This trade feels major hole in their organization. The whole of one more young, and upcoming top 4 defenseman. They also don’t need him to be a number 1D.


You’re joking right? Compare Casey at the same age to Dylan and then tell me what you see…

I'm very familiar with Buffalo's prospects, maybe if your team would have bothered to draft a defensmen in the first round (not 1st overall) they wouldn't be compelled to trade their top scorer this year to take a flyer on an injury prone player.

Like instead of Savoie they could have taken Mintyukov (drafted right after) who has 24 points (Byram's career high btw) in his first year in the NHL at 20 years old.

But I know I am just a hockey fan what do I know. I bow to the wisdom of the Sabres I mean what they are doing is clearly "working".

Have a nice day and good luck with Byram, maybe tell him to keep his head up around the Tkachuks.