The Boston Bruins may be on the verge of repeating a mistake the Colorado Avalanche already learned the hard way.
Casey Mittelstadt is the name at the center of it. Colorado once tried to make him the answer after moving on from Nazem Kadri, and the move quickly turned into a two-part misfire: the Avalanche dealt Bowen Byram, then doubled down by extending Mittelstadt. Eventually, they reached the point where they had to move him on, and Boston became the beneficiary.
So far, Mittelstadt has been serviceable in a Bruins sweater, but not the kind of difference-maker that justifies a big commitment. In 71 games last season, he scored 15 goals and finished with 42 points.
That’s useful production. It’s not the sort of output that makes a four-year, $26 million deal feel like a bargain.
That rumored price tag is exactly where the danger sits for Boston. A $6.5 million cap hit would put the Bruins in a spot where they’re paying for a ceiling Mittelstadt hasn’t shown he can consistently reach.
Colorado, for its part, looks justified in having cut bait when it did. The Avalanche clearly viewed Mittelstadt’s $5.75 million cap hit as a mistake, even if it didn’t look that way initially. They expected the 27-year-old to grow into the second-line center role they needed, and that never really happened.
The return from Boston didn’t end up being the final word either. Charlie Coyle didn’t last, but the deal eventually brought back Gavin Brindley. If Brindley becomes a regular in the Avalanche lineup, Colorado will have turned a bad bet into something far more manageable.
What Mittelstadt has looked like in Boston is more middle-six winger than top-six center, and that matters here. The Bruins hoped a change of scenery would unlock more, but that hasn’t been the story so far. If they now hand him a raise, they’d be tying up cap space in a player who hasn’t proven he can justify that kind of investment.
Maybe Boston thinks it can squeeze more out of him. But if the Bruins go through with it, they’d be doing exactly what Colorado wisely avoided: paying too much and hoping the rest takes care of itself.
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