DENVER — The Avalanche finally got their No. 2 center.
After swinging a deal to send Ryan Johansen to Philadelphia, Colorado pulled off a stunner, trading young defenseman Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres for Casey Mittelstadt. The deal is one-for-one.
In the first move, the Avs sent Johansen and a 2025 conditional first-round draft pick (top-10 protected) to the Flyers for defenseman Sean Walker and a 2026 fifth-round pick. The 29-year-old right-shot Walker is a pending unrestricted free agent enjoying a breakout season. He has six goals and 16 assists in 62 games while playing a career-high 19:35 per game.
Mittelstadt, 25, solves the Avalanche’s need for a second-line center that they’ve missed since Nazem Kadri walked as a free agent in the 2022 offseason. Johansen, who was acquired from the Nashville Predators last June, did not fit in with Colorado’s speed and style.
Mittelstadt has 14 goals and 33 assists in 62 games and has played a career-high 18:16 per game this season. He had a career-best 59 points last year and is on pace to pass that this year. Colorado has 19 games remaining on its schedule.
