Two things have always been true for Casey Mittelstadt in his hockey career: He can be too hard on himself, but he always digs his way out of a slump through hard work.
Then he encountered a rough patch unlike anything he’d ever experienced last year with the Colorado Avalanche. It cost him a chance to settle at a place he thought might become home.
It also gave him time to reflect on a whirlwind two years that saw him uprooted twice — and helped him realize that when times get tough, he needs to work on putting down the shovel.
“Sometimes you almost care too much, and it’s better to go out and play carefree and not worry about the consequences as much,” Mittelstadt said. “It’s something I’ve struggled with, I would say, my whole career, not just even pro hockey. Something I’m definitely working on and going to continue to work on.
“I think all of us are so competitive, and to some degree, we’re all perfectionists. Sometimes you get a little hard on yourself and get in that hole.”
Mittelstadt returned to Ball Arena with the Boston Bruins on Saturday, back to the site of the worst hole he’s ever encountered. He arrived in Denver in a shocking trade that saw the Avs send their best young player, defenseman Bo Byram, to Buffalo for Mittelstadt, who was expected to be part of the core of the next great Sabres team.
It was the type of one-for-one challenge trade of young players with immense potential that rarely happens in the NHL. Mittelstadt was the next in line to fill the No. 2 center position behind Nathan MacKinnon.
The trade looked like a home run for the Avs. Mittelstadt fit in with the team immediately. He and MacKinnon quickly became practice buddies, as he tried to soak up everything he could from one of the best centers in the world. They’re both hockey nerds at heart, and it looked like a good match.
Mittelstadt was productive at the end of the 2023-24 season and had a strong showing in his first Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Avs signed him to a three-year contract at $5.75 million per season. Then, he got off to a hot start last year when the depleted club needed him.
Then … it just went sideways for him.
“I don’t know,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said when asked what went wrong. “… It’s different for every player and how he feels in the environment. Some guys thrive in it, some guys don’t. You can hit a streak. You lose confidence, and things don’t go well. There’s high expectations and moves are made. Other guys gain confidence and play well. Every team’s not going to be a fit for every player.”
From the day after the trade until mid-November of last season, Mittelstadt had 37 points in 48 games, including nine in 11 playoff contests. That’s a 63-point pace over a full season — exactly what the Avs have been looking for in that role.
Then he had four goals and 16 points in his next 44 games. The next game after that came with the Bruins, when he was traded, along with prospect William Zellers and a second-round pick, for Charlie Coyle. That the Avs had to include two assets to acquire a less-productive center suggests that Mittelstadt’s stock had plummeted.
“I think especially in the season when you’re playing every other day and things are crazy, it almost feels like it’s something different every game when it’s not going well,” Mittelstadt said. “Sadly, I think I probably fell into that rabbit hole a little bit too much.
“It’s part of it, though. It’s part of growing up and maturing and learning from your mistakes. I think as long as you do that, you look back on every experience as a positive one.”
Mittelstadt is already on his second coach with the Bruins, something he has experience with after spending the first six seasons of his career in Buffalo. He’s centering the second line for a franchise in transition. The spine of a potentially great team is still there with David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman, but the rest of the roster is a bit of an odd collection of players.
He’ll have a local kid, Littleton’s Michael Eyssimont, on his wing Saturday night in Denver. Mittelstadt has two goals and no assists in five games this season, and six goals but just two assists in 23 games overall for the Bruins.
“It’s been fun. Obviously, a crazy couple of years,” Mittelstadt said. “Trying to get settled in and get comfortable. It’s a great group of guys, so I’ve been having a good time. I think we’ve played overall pretty well and some things to improve on. I think we have a good team.”
Mittelstadt was a phenom growing up in Minnesota. He struggled at first with the Sabres but eventually matured into one of their best players and a productive NHL player.
He and the Avs looked like a great fit until it suddenly wasn’t. In a whirlwind year for the organization, his slump was one of the more perplexing developments. Other players have not worked out in Denver, but he was a unique case. He fit with the culture of the team, but it just went awry on the ice.
Now he’s trying to find the magic he had near the end of his time in Buffalo, while sorting out life in a new city.
“I think it’s a work in progress a little bit, trying to regain some of the confidence, and some of the things maybe I’d lost in the past couple of years,” Mittelstadt said. “At the same time, I think there’s a lot of positives and a lot of things going in the right direction.
“I learned so much in Colorado. I’m very grateful for my time there, and I feel like the staff taught me a ton, along with a lot of the players. I feel blessed to have that opportunity, but also happy to be here.”
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