The Avalanche weren’t going to trade Charlie Coyle unless they were absolutely blown away by an offer.
That was the message from the start of the offseason, as soon as teams started to call for Colorado’s veteran third-line center. Given the lack of options on the market, any team needing depth at the position was going to need to overpay for what would usually be the cost for someone of Coyle’s caliber.
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But there was more to it.
NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman recently said on Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts podcast that the Avalanche were leveraging Coyle to clear another contract off the books.
“The thing I heard about Coyle is that, Colorado made it very clear that if you were going to get him, you were probably going to have to take Miles Wood, too,” Friedman said. “Wood needed a change of scenery, it just didn’t work out in Colorado.
“Columbus could do that. That is one way that Columbus’ cap flexibility won the day for them. They got Coyle because they were willing to take Wood.”
Ultimately, in the span of three months, the Avalanche used Coyle’s value to rid themselves of two contracts that weren’t working out for them. Colorado got Coyle and a fifth-round draft pick from the Boston Bruins in a deal for Will Zellers, a second-round draft pick, and Casey Mittelstadt, who was on the first of a three-year deal paying him $5.75 million per season. Mittelstadt is already slotted in as the third-best center on Boston’s depth chart, behind Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha. There’s no saying if he’ll fit in on that team.
Was it an overpay? Sure, if you consider who Colorado gave up to get Mittelstadt in the first place. But selling off a mid-level prospect and a second-round draft pick was great to get off a player that wasn’t working for them, and eating a large portion of their cap.
Wood was in a similar situation. His first year with the Avs was fine, but last season was a mess. He’s now dealing with back issues and might never be the same player, at least not in Colorado. With four years remaining at $2.5 million per season, getting off of his deal without having to pay to do so, was something Chris MacFarland needed to do.
When you consider that Columbus gave up a prospect better than Zellers in Gavin Brindley, in addition to a second-round draft pick and a third-round draft pick, it’s a great deal for Coyle, who was slotted in as a third-line center. And it also meant moving on from Wood.
If you combine all the trades, the Avs basically swapped Zellers for Brindley, swapped second-round draft picks, and gained a third and fifth round pick to get off of Mittelstadt and Wood’s combined $8.25 million in cap space, and in the process they got Coyle for a playoff run that admittedly should’ve gone better than it did this past season.
It’s a tidy bit of business that finally gives Colorado cap flexibility for the first time since they won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
