The Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins are rivals and have had one of the most intense rivalries over the course of their respective franchise histories. Right now, though, they have different goals and could both benefit from making a trade with each other.
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The Bruins cleaned house last season and are seemingly ready to rebuild their team from the ground up around David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Jeremy Swayman. One player who has had his name involved in trade rumours all summer is forward Casey Mittelstadt, and considering the Canadiens’ need for a second-line centre, he could be the perfect target.
In this article, we take a look at a hypothetical deal between the two teams that sends Mittelstadt to the Habs and why it would benefit both sides.
Canadiens Get Centre They Need, Bruins Add Promising Prospect
Before we get started, let me clarify that this is a hypothetical deal and there are no reports claiming something like this is close to fruition, or has even been talked about. This deal makes sense since both teams would be filling needs they have, but nothing of the sort has seemingly been discussed by either team.
With that being said, Mittelstadt was acquired by the Bruins from the Colorado Avalanche last season in a deal that sent Charlie Coyle the other way. The deal also included William Zellers and a second-round pick going to the Bruins. Mittelstadt played 18 games with the Bruins last season, scoring four goals and adding two assists for six points, finishing the entire campaign with 40 points through 81 games.
Mittelstadt is entering the second season of a three-year contract that has a $5,750,000 cap hit. While the Canadiens lack cap space right now, they should be able to have some room to work after they trade Carey Price’s $10,500,000 contract, which is expected to happen sooner rather than later.
The Canadiens need to find a second-line centre to fill out their depth chart and have a shot at making a deep playoff run, and Mittelstadt seems like the perfect candidate for that. He has some solid underlying numbers and produces well offensively, but had a really tough 2024-25 season, and could benefit from a fresh start.
Casey Mittelstadt, acquired by BOS, is a middle-six playmaking centre. After a promising start with the Avs last year has struggled tremendously, creating essentially no chances for himself while getting caved in. Not a checker. Needs a bounceback. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/BIOyGZ5Q3V
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 7, 2025
The Canadiens could take him on as a low-risk, high-reward type of asset, hoping he bounces back into the solid two-way forward he was with the Avalanche, and they might be able to get him without breaking the bank in a trade return.
Realistically, a deal looks like the Canadiens acquiring Mittelstadt in exchange for Aatos Koivu and their 2026 second-round pick.
The Canadiens have the Columbus Blue Jackets’ second-round pick in 2026, so they can afford to move their own. Koivu is also a promising prospect who could have a shot at breaking into an NHL lineup within the next few seasons, but to bring in a guy like Mittelstadt, who fills a need, it’s worth moving on from a prospect.
At the end of the day, I would expect the Canadiens to continue to try and bring in a second-line centre once they have some cap space available to them. It may take them some time to figure out the right fit and what direction they wanna go to try and get a trade done, but I think it will be a matter of when, not if, they make a deal for a centre, and Mittelstadt makes perfect sense for them.
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Salary cap data courtesy of PuckPedia.
