Avalanche re-signs forward Casey Mittelstadt to three-year contract

DENVER — One of the most important tasks on Chris MacFarland’s offseason to-do list is done, but significant challenges remain.

The Colorado Avalanche signed center Casey Mittelstadt to a three-year contract, the team announced Tuesday, ensuring the franchise will hang on to its most prized addition from this past season’s trade deadline. The deal is worth $5.75 million per season, a league source confirmed.

Since joining the Avs in a March trade with the Buffalo Sabres, Mittelstadt played in 18 regular-season games and made the first Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance of his career. Between Buffalo and Colorado, the 25-year-old racked up 57 points last season.

“Casey was a great fit for our lineup and a big contributor to our team down the stretch and in the playoffs,” MacFarland, the club’s general manager, said in a news release. “His game has improved every season and he took yet another big jump this past year. We believe he has an even higher level to reach and it was important to get him signed for several years. Casey is an exciting, playmaking center with good vision and hands and at just 25-years-old is going to be a big part of our team moving forward.”

Mittelstadt was a pending restricted free agent. This deal covers his final year of RFA eligibility and two seasons of potential unrestricted free agency.

Getting Mittelstadt signed is the first domino for an important, but uncertain offseason for the Avalanche. Colorado would still like to sign pending UFA Jonathan Drouin and has several depth roles to fill, but salary cap space is limited.

Colorado currently has a little more than $11.36 million left in cap space with Mittelstadt under contract, per CapFriendly, but that does include $6.125 million for Valeri Nichushkin. He is suspended until at least mid-November. The Avs have a little more flexibility without needing to count his contract towards the $88 million ceiling now, but they’ll need at least that much space to be cap compliant when he is reinstated by the league.

The Avs now have eight forwards, four defensemen and two goalies who were regulars last season under contract, not counting Nichushkin. Even if the Avs just fill those six open spots with a combination of younger players like Nikolai Kovalenko, Jean-Luc Foudy and Sam Malinski, plus three veterans on minimum contracts, that leaves Colorado with less than $6.5 million in space right now, and less than $320,000 when factoring in Nichushkin’s deal.

The Avs traded Bo Byram, the best young player in the organization, to the Sabres for Mittelstadt. They may need to trade another player who has was a regular in 2023-24 to make room for Drouin or a potential replacement.

Trying to find a No. 2 center to slot in behind Nathan MacKinnon has been an ongoing quest for the Avalanche over the past several seasons. Colorado believes Mittelstadt is the long-term solution.

Mittelstadt quickly endeared himself to his teammates with his passing skills and ability to win puck battles. This was amplified in the playoffs, when multiple leaders on the team lauded Mittelstadt for his work ethic and play on the biggest stage.

Mittelstadt was one of the best players in Minnesota high school hockey history and the No. 8 pick in the 2017 NHL draft by Buffalo. He played one year of college hockey at Minnesota, and made his NHL debut as a teenager.

His NHL career got off to a disappointing start, and he was even sent to the AHL during the 2019-20 season. But Mittelstadt had a breakout season in 2022-23 with 15 goals and 59 points, and followed it up with 18 goals and 57 points this past year.

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