With the Edmonton Oilers facing the Colorado Avalanche tonight, I thought it would be fun to find out what’s happening with the Avs, as we are officially one month away from the NHL Trade Deadline. I contacted Jesse Montano, who covers the Avalanche for Guerilla Sports, to ask a few questions about the team’s current situation and potential players on the move.
First, I needed to ask about the situation with Casey Mittelstadt, as the centre is listed fifth on Frank Seravalli’s Trade Targets Board.
“The Avs have tried to use him at 2C, and it just hasn’t gone as well as they were hoping.”
This is how Jesse described him for Oilers fans unfamiliar with the player.
“High skill player, great vision, great hands. Has shown some flashes of good physical play, and an ability to score.”
Adding onto Mittelstadt and the Avalanche.
“But he has spent the last two-three months just going quiet for really long stretches of time. Low compete-level, soft on the puck, and unable to generate much offensively. I think coming into this season, the Avs saw him as a potential long-term solution down the middle, but now I’m hearing that the Avs are at least checking in with other teams to see if they could find a way to upgrade.”
What would the return look like if the Avalanche were to find a buyer for him?
“Well, if they’re going to move him, it’s because they think they can upgrade to 2C. So if the trade they make with him is for that upgraded player, it would likely be him + an additional asset for a 2C. If he’s not in that deal, it would probably be something to dump the salary to set up for another move.”
Now that the Avalanche have made a few in-season trades already. Bolstering the goaltending position by acquiring Scott Wedgewood from the Dallas Stars in late November and Mackenzie Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks in early December.
Nearly two months later, they would be involved in one of the biggest trades the NHL has seen in years, a three-way deal with the Hurricanes and Blackhawks, moving Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a 2025 2nd Round Pick and 2026 4th Round Pick. So, what is the plan with the Avs moving forward?
“They’re trying to reimagine the way they approach the Salary Cap. For the last number of years, including the year they won the Cup in 2022, they have prioritized spreading the money around the roster and not paying goalies big money. Well, they changed that philosophy when they extended Blackwood. So, from my perspective they are trying to change their roster construction to create more balance Lines 1-4, while also trying to avoid having a revolving door of goalies.”
Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2021-22, the Avalanche have yet to return to the Western Conference Final. In 2022-23, the Seattle Kraken eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs. Last season, the Dallas Stars eliminated them in the second round.
With players like Nathan Mackinnon and Cale Makar, they’ve remained a dangerous team. After retooling the roster and addressing issues within the lineup, it will be interesting to see what moves they plan to make within the next month. Like the Edmonton Oilers, they will be hungry to make a run for the Stanley Cup, and many would agree that it would be must-watch hockey if they met in the West Final.
Thank you to Jesse Montano for his time and insight on the Colorado Avalanche. You can find him on X and his work at Guerilla Sports.
