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Bruins trade Charlie Coyle to Colorado for package including Casey Mittelstadt
The Bruins are getting back a middle-six forward in Mittelstadt, a second-round pick, and prospect Will Zellers.
Just an hour before Friday’s 3 p.m. deadline, the Bruins are moving on from one of their longest-tenured players.
The Bruins have traded center Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche — with Boston getting a package back headlined by center Casey Mittelstadt.
In addition, the Bruins are also getting a 2025 second-round pick and prospect Will Zellers from Colorado.
The second-round pick is conditional, with Boston set to receive whichever second-round draft pick Colorado currently owns that results in a lower placement in the draft order.
Coyle — a Weymouth native — has been a stalwart of Boston’s middle-six grouping for the past seven years, with the veteran center playing 452 games with the Bruins and recording 230 points over that stretch.
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A trade pickup by Boston ahead of the 2019 deadline, Coyle helped spark Boston’s run to the Stanley Cup Final later that spring as part of a strong third line alongside Danton Heinen and Marcus Johansson.
A dependable two-way center, Coyle put together a career year with Boston in 2023-24 — scoring a career-best 25 goals and 60 points with Boston as the team’s 2C. But the 33-year-old forward’s play has dipped this season — with the former BU Terrier limited to just 15 goals and 22 points.
By moving Coyle, the Bruins are banking on a younger middle-six center in Mittelstadt finding his game with Boston.
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The eighth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Mittelstadt projects as a playmaking center that has yet to put it all together at the NHL level.
While he posted 59 points and 57 points during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns, respectively, he struggled to find traction with Colorado this year — scoring 11 goals and 34 points over 63 games.
The Bruins don’t save cap space by moving Coyle, as Mittelstadt’s $5.75 million cap hit is more than Coyle’s $5.25 million cap hit. But Mittelstadt does offer some security with his contract, given that he’s signed for the next two years — with his value potentially maximized amid a spiking cap hit if he can settle into a set role with Boston.
Zellers is an intriguing add for the Bruins’ prospect pipeline. A third-round pick from Colorado in the 2024 NHL Draft, the 18-year-old winger isn’t the most imposing frame at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds. But Zellers is a potent scorer with a great shot — with the forward scoring 37 goals in just 40 games with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers this season.
Zellers is committed to the University of North Dakota for next season, with the forward originally committed to Boston University.
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The Bruins will now have two second-round picks in this upcoming 2025 NHL Draft, while the Bruins will also give a 2026 fifth-round pick to Colorado to complete the deal.
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