Bruins Rumors: Mittelstadt Trade Could Be Coming Very Soon

All of the trade talks surrounding the Boston Bruins has been involving Pavel Zacha, but there are others the team could use to get better or alter the look. One player that could be on the move very soon is Casey Mittelstadt.

James Murphy said, "Casey Mittelstadt could potentially be on the move, according to sources."

Mittelstadt is 26 years old and might have reached his peak as a middle-6 player who can be a secondary scorer. He was a later bloomer after being drafted eighth overall by the Buffalo Sabres, but had a couple of seasons where he nearly hit 60 points. That was the hope for the Bruins when they brought him in partway through last season, but he finished the season with only four goals and six points in 18 games.

Mittelstadt had 15 goals and 40 points on the season, but was a -17 in 18 games for the Bruins. He is in line to play on the second line next season if he sticks around, playing either center or the wing, depending on Zacha, but the Bruins might be moving on from Mittelstadt before we get a chance to see.

The Bruins aren't going into a rebuild with some of the players they have under contract, but it has to be a decently big retool. What they have done to the forward group isn't good and it will be tough for them to score goals next season. Maybe Mittelstadt is a trade that is meant to free up space for the team so they can target someone bigger. There are definitely still impactful forwards available on the trade market and Jack Roslovic wouldn't be a bad addition either.

It will be interesting to see how quickly a Mittelstadt trade progresses, if it does, but it won't be easy for the Bruins to move all of his $5.75 million AAV contract. He has two years left on that deal and no trade protection until the final year. He is the third highest paid forward on the team and didn't even play to a 0.5 points-per-game over the course of the season. I think Boston eats some money as there are two open retention spots left, and upgrades afterwards through a trade.