Confirmed with Link: Mittelstadt re-signed (3 years, $5.75M AAV)

[AllAboutAvs]

Mitts problem is easy to see for me. He holds on to the puck too long especially along the boards where the other teams have figured him out. He skates along the board and as soon as he has a bit of pressure on him he turns around. The defender knows that and he pins him on the board until another guy comes and takes away the puck from him. It happens every single time. Get the puck off quicker and the other team will give him more room.

With that said he also needs to make better passes. He was outstanding at the beginning of the season with his passes. Now he makes very bad decisions with his passes. Combine that with his poor board play and you get the Mitts we have right now.

 

[Balthazar]

Nope, I'm not buying that--he didn't just get winded in the first month of the season and struggle after that. Something happened.

Like what?

 

[CobraAcesS]

Mitts problem is easy to see for me. He holds on to the puck too long especially along the boards where the other teams have figured him out. He skates along the board and as soon as he has a bit of pressure on him he turns around. The defender knows that and he pins him on the board until another guy comes and takes away the puck from him. It happens every single time. Get the puck off quicker and the other team will give him more room.

With that said he also needs to make better passes. He was outstanding at the beginning of the season with his passes. Now he makes very bad decisions with his passes. Combine that with his poor board play and you get the Mitts we have right now.

I made a joke in a GDT that Bednar needs to give him a rule. 1.. 2.. count if you've got nothing you put it down low or on the net.

That's definitely an issue, but his production isn't the only issue.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I made a joke in a GDT that Bednar needs to give him a rule. 1.. 2.. count if you've got nothing you put it down low or on the net.

That's definitely an issue, but his production isn't the only issue.

This needs to be a thing. There should be a big ass bucket in the middle of the locker-room and everytime a player fails to live by the rule on the PP they toss in a Benjamin. The cash generated should be used on charity, less Stan try to claim it as HRR.

 

[CobraAcesS]

This needs to be a thing. There should be a big ass bucket in the middle of the locker-room and everytime a player fails to live by the rule on the PP they toss in a Benjamin. The cash generated should be used on charity, less Stan try to claim it as HRR.

Yeah that too, these mfers on the power play all look like Mitts at 5v5 entering the zone is all the video they watch. That shit is horrifyingly bad and infuriating.


Actually the drunk post in the GDT only included the net. I added down low here lol.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Nope, I'm not buying that--he didn't just get winded in the first month of the season and struggle after that. Something happened.

Also, I think this notion that guys need to be Olympic-level athletes in order to skate in Bednar's system is getting more than a little exaggerated. If Mitts couldn't keep up it would've shown up a hell of a lot sooner.

He also dominated some very talented company in the playoffs. Clearly he works in this system… He started off slow after the trade and I could definitely see conditioning be part of the issue coming in last year. But the drop off has been so stark it has to be injury related to me. Which if it is, he needs to heal up clearly.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Yeah that too, these mfers on the power play all look like Mitts at 5v5 entering the zone is all the video they watch. That shit is horrifyingly bad and infuriating.


Actually the drunk post in the GDT only included the net. I added down low here lol.

I only took it out because I don't want them putting it "down low" on the PP. I want it "on net".

Belay that... I want it "in net".

 

[Balthazar]

 

[The Merchant]

 

[Pokecheque]

Like what?

Like he got hurt. That’s what.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

 

[Vaslof]

Put him on the 4th line until further notice. Although a crazier idea I had was to put him on MacKinnon's wing and see if that gets him going.

 

[Vaslof]

I chopped up his stats in three periods (17/15/13 games) and selected some stats I was curious about. It's a little scuffed but I already spent enough time on this.

Most notable to me is that our powerplay infamously went cold and Mitts' role on it was reduced. His even strength scoring had about the same drop between sections. He did however play with worse linemates at the beginning, so you would expect it to go up, not down.
Interestingly the shot count differential has turned hard against him, but the actual goal differential has improved. The cause of this is that we now have a goaltender that can stop pucks.

	First month and a bit	Second month	Third month
Games	17	15	13
Shot Attempt Differential	+15	-15	-40
Points per game (total points)	0.94 (16)	0.40 (6)	0.31 (4)
Powerplay points	8	1	1
Powerplay time per game	4:04	2:24	2:03
Giveaways per 60	3.56	4.35	2.52
Takeaways per 60	0.71	0.91	0.56
On-Ice Even Strength Goal Differential	-10	-5	+1
Faceoff win %	41.9%	40.1%	38.9%

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

Put him on the 4th line until further notice. Although a crazier idea I had was to put him on MacKinnon's wing and see if that gets him going.

MacK might kill him

 

[nonamejay]

• defends with two hands on his stick
• feet are moving but his skating posture is too straight, leading to poor stride
• moves are predictable along the boards
• soft in the tough areas of the ice without the puck
• doesn't get to shooting positions and/or release is too slow

These are pretty big flaws and can't be compensated with great vision and epic attempts to stickhandle in a tight space, which by the way is easy to defend against, like someone mentioned earlier. For that style to work, the puck needs to leave his stick a lot quicker.

I'm starting to wonder what the pro scouts saw in him and if the fit is fixable.

 

[shadow1]

Mittelstadt's either secretly injured or going through a dark time psychologically.

He had two straight good years in Buffalo, followed by ~50 very good games with Colorado (18+11(playoffs)+first 20ish this year). That's not a heat streak and is evidence he can thrive in this system.

Something is wrong beneath the surface. We saw this with Kadri in '21. Amazing first 20 games followed by months of hot dog water play (2g, 6a in 31gp). He eventually figured it out, but not until the next season.

 

[AnimalMother73]

Mittelstadt's either secretly injured or going through a dark time psychologically.

He had two straight good years in Buffalo, followed by ~50 very good games with Colorado (18+11(playoffs)+first 20ish this year). That's not a heat streak and is evidence he can thrive in this system.

Something is wrong beneath the surface. We saw this with Kadri in '21. Amazing first 20 games followed by months of hot dog water play (2g, 6a in 31gp). He eventually figured it out, but not until the next season.

Wow did not remember that about Kadri. Leaves us some hope he can come out of it I suppose.

 

[AvBuff]

Wow did not remember that about Kadri. Leaves us some hope he can come out of it I suppose.

Yeah - everybody fixates on the 2022 Stanley Cup run Nazem Kadri. While forgetting he pretty much sucked in 2021. These are human beings, not PlayStation Avatars. If Mitts is working through something, give him some time and space.

 

[Avs_19]

I'm not with these repeated Kadri comparisons. Yeah, he had his own struggles but his peak was always better than Mittelstadt and he never played soft. Just because Kadri, who is one of the most confident/cocky guys out there, turned it around doesn't give me any extra hope for Mittelstadt. A lot of the Kadri frustrations were him trying to do too much and failing. With Mittelstadt, it doesn't seem like he's even trying and even the HC alluded to certain guys not giving it their all without mentioning names. If he's injured then go sit in the press box and get healthy instead of hurting your team on the ice. His play has been flat out pathetic for two months now.

 

[The Abusement Park]

I'm not with these repeated Kadri comparisons. Yeah, he had his own struggles but his peak was always better than Mittelstadt and he never played soft. Just because Kadri, who is one of the most confident/cocky guys out there, turned it around doesn't give me any extra hope for Mittelstadt. A lot of the Kadri frustrations were him trying to do too much and failing. With Mittelstadt, it doesn't seem like he's even trying and even the HC alluded to certain guys not giving it their all without mentioning names. If he's injured then go sit in the press box and get healthy instead of hurting your team on the ice. His play has been flat out pathetic for two months now.

I think the Kadri season is a perfect comparison? He was horrible in every aspect of the game.

 

[Avs_19]

I think the Kadri season is a perfect comparison? He was horrible in every aspect of the game.

I've never had to question Kadri's effort or "softness." If others did during that season then maybe we were just seeing things differently.

 

[Pokecheque]

I've never had to question Kadri's effort or "softness." If others did during that season then maybe we were just seeing things differently.

I think there's a comparison to be had there.

I still don't think there's an issue (necessarily) with his physical effort. I still see him going to the dirty areas of the ice, I still see him skating, I still see him trying to make plays (and failing). But I think there's a difference between being in the game and going through the motions, still chugging hard and what not, and being mentally checked in. That's where I think there's a similarity between present-day Mittelstadt and Kadri circa 2021. The decision making, the hesitancy, being weak on pucks, I don't think that's a lack of *physical* effort, that's mental. And part of that is confidence. Perhaps I'm splitting hairs, but that's my take on it. I know from my limited experience as a player, there are nights you feel like you're flying across the ice, and there are nights you feel like you're sinking into it.

I want to keep telling myself that Mitts is hurt and that's why he looks so slow out there. But the way the team is acting, it feels like they're just not happy with his play, period. Either way, it's clear he's just not with it right now, on that I'm sure we can all agree.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Mittelstadt's either secretly injured or going through a dark time psychologically.

He had two straight good years in Buffalo, followed by ~50 very good games with Colorado (18+11(playoffs)+first 20ish this year). That's not a heat streak and is evidence he can thrive in this system.

Something is wrong beneath the surface. We saw this with Kadri in '21. Amazing first 20 games followed by months of hot dog water play (2g, 6a in 31gp). He eventually figured it out, but not until the next season.

I wouldn't be shocked if he is the next going to "NHL substance program". Hah. Same with Girard. Level of play dropped a lot.

He ain't this bad of a player. That's for sure.

 

[Ceremony]

What happened to Mittelstadt doing skill coaching with MacKinnon and Adam Oates?

 

[shadow1]

I'm not with these repeated Kadri comparisons. Yeah, he had his own struggles but his peak was always better than Mittelstadt and he never played soft. Just because Kadri, who is one of the most confident/cocky guys out there, turned it around doesn't give me any extra hope for Mittelstadt. A lot of the Kadri frustrations were him trying to do too much and failing. With Mittelstadt, it doesn't seem like he's even trying and even the HC alluded to certain guys not giving it their all without mentioning names. If he's injured then go sit in the press box and get healthy instead of hurting your team on the ice. His play has been flat out pathetic for two months now.

The play styles are different, but Kadri's low point was just as low. There was a mixture of fans who either wanted him traded or were unsure if he could still handle the 2C role heading into 2022:

Thread 'Kadri'

May 4, 2021

I'm sick of Kadri. He has done nothing. He has given up. 4 points in his last 22 games. No goals in his last 19 games. Is this a 2nd line center on a playoff team? That's not even 4th line player statistics.

It's not even that he is Snake bitten. When was the last time he even had a scoring chance.

Bednar has tried multiple wingers and his game hasn't changed. Which is weird because at one point this season that 2nd line was dominant.

Regardless, he is a massive anchor right now and needs to sit. Indefinitely. Jost is not a 2nd line center either. Bring Newhook up and see what he...

• JH21
• Replies: 1,162
• Forum: Colorado Avalanche

The thing that's similar between Kadri and Mittelstadt is that during their skid, neither player looked like how we know they can look.