Toronto, Ontario (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres have traded one of their centers for a young defenseman, sending Casey Mittelstadt to the Colorado Avalanche for Bowen Byram.
Byram is a left-shot defenseman who was taken by the Avalanche fourth overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. He was a pick Colorado got from the Ottawa Senators in the Matt Duchene trade on Nov. 5, 2017.
The 22-year-old is in his third full season in the NHL. In 146 career NHL games spanning parts of four years, Byram has 23 goals and 40 assists for 63 points.
In 55 games this season, Byram has scored eight goals and registered 12 assists for 20 points.
Byram knows many of the young players in the Sabres organization, as he's played with Devon Levi, Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn, and Peyton Krebs with Team Canada at the World Juniors.
Mittelstadt was taken by the Sabres eighth overall in the 2017 NHL Draft, and was a bit of a late bloomer.
Last season, Mittelstadt finally blossomed into what the Sabres thought they were drafting when he had 15 goals and 44 assists for 59 points, all career highs.
The 25-year-old was Buffalo’s leading scorer this season with 14 goals and 33 assists for 47 points in 62 games. Over 82 games, that works out to 19 goals and 44 assists for 63 points.
Mittelstadt became expendable for the right price, because the Sabres have already committed to Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens with seven-year contracts to be the team's top-two centers. They also drafted three centers two years ago in the first round of the draft, and all are doing well in their development.
In 339 career games with the Sabres, Mittelstadt had 62 goals and 124 assists for 186 points.
Mittelstadt became very close with this group of Sabres, and said numerous times he loved Buffalo and he loved playing with this core. He was very popular in the room, and this move will come as a shock to many of the young players as they learn the NHL is a business.
The NHL Trade Deadline is Friday at 3 p.m. EST league-wide.
