Mittelstadt, Walker Trade Grades, Byram Reacts To Trade, Nichushkin Not Cleared, More

The folks over at The Athletic were understandably busy on Wednesday, weighing in with their thoughts as the trades were pouring in. The staff graded the Colorado Avalanche‘s acquisitions of defenseman Sean Walker and forward Casey Mittelstadt.

Dom Luszczyszyn gave Colorado a “B” grade, while Sean Gentille viewed the Walker trade as an “A”.

Here is part of Luszczyszyn’s analysis:

Walker is a great puck-mover, something the Avalanche covet from the back end. They love having a mobile blue line, and Walker should fit right in.

Still, there are questions about Walker’s game regarding playoff hockey. It’s clear Walker fits Colorado’s identity, but there’s a degree of sameness to his game, including his smaller stature. At 5 feet 11 inches and 195 pounds, Walker isn’t exactly built like a prototypical playoff defenseman, and that could be a concern for Colorado’s blue line, which already wasn’t very big to begin with. If the Avalanche go deep, they go deep on the strength of their identity — it’s just an identity that does fly a bit against the current mold. That creates some risk. With Bowen Byram moved quickly in a subsequent trade, that might be something the Avalanche address elsewhere with a depth add.

Here is part of Gentille’s analysis:

In Walker, the Avs get a solid second-pair guy in his own right. His presence lets Colorado move Josh Manson to the third pair. A first-round pick, especially one that’ll almost certainly be in the mid-to late-20s, is a relatively small price to pay for that privilege. Moving the entirety of Johansen’s contract, rather than having to bury part of it in the AHL, is a nice bit of added value. Now, Colorado’s depth chart — with Mittelstadt as the 2C and Makar-Walker-Manson on the right side of the defense — makes perfect sense.

As for the Casey Mittelstadt one-for-one trade for Bowen Byram, Eric Duhatschek and Corey Pronman provided their thoughts.

Duhatschek loved the trade, handing out an “A+” grade for Colorado. Meanwhile, Pronman was not as excited about the trade for the Avalanche, giving it a “B-“.

Here was part of Duhatschek’s analysis:

Mostly though what you like about what Colorado did here by making two parallel moves that upgrade its forward group without sacrificing too much present-day value on the blue line. Losing Byram isn’t ideal, but he was never going to be a top-two defenseman with the Avs, playing behind Cale Makar and Devon Toews. But the Avs were not so deep on the blue line that they couldn’t use help — hence the simultaneous acquisition of Walker from the Flyers, someone who they can plug into their top four and eat up Byram’s minutes.

Effectively, with Mittelstadt and Walker in and Byram and Johansen out, that’s a vastly different look for the Avs and a greatly improved roster on paper.

Here was part of Pronman’s analysis:

Mittelstadt has become an excellent NHL center after an up-and-down start to his pro career. He is a player with elite puck handling skills. He is a very creative playmaker who can run a power play from the flank and create a ton of scoring chances at even strength. His skating is just OK and he’s not an overly physical player either, but he is a legit top NHL forward due to how much offense he creates. In Colorado, he can slide very well in the top six whether on the wing or as the second-line center. I don’t know if the Avalanche got the best long-term asset, but today they are a better team than they were yesterday as they attempt to win another Stanley Cup. Between Makar, Toews, Samuel Girard and Byram, Colorado was always going to be hard-pressed to pay all four of them. I always thought Girard was going to be the odd man out, but it ended up being Byram.

Byram will join a Buffalo Sabres D corps that was already one of the youngest (and most talented) in the National Hockey League.