The dust has settled from the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline and it wouldn’t be hyperbole to describe the Boston Bruins as unrecognizable. For the first time in a very long time, the Bruins were placed in the “sellers” camp at the deadline, which made sense given their level of play this season, as well as the market turning into one that benefited selling teams more than buying teams. Though the Bruins ultimately moved on from captain Brad Marchand in a trade with the Florida Panthers, as well as Brandon Carlo to the Maple Leafs, Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers, Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild and Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche, the team did acquire some capable NHL bodies in return. One such name was forward Casey Mittelstadt.
The Bruins are undoubtedly a worse team on paper now than they were before the deadline. At the same time, something about how the team was gelling together wasn’t working. The construction of the 2024-25 Bruins can be dissected ad nauseam, but a glaring downside to their roster was the emphasis on size over speed. While the best teams in the NHL do often carry some size to their roster, it’s clear that these teams also have a certain level of skill, speed and intensity that also make them hard to play against. By adding in players like Marat Khusnutdinov, Jakub Lauko, Henri Jokiharju and Mittelstadt, the Bruins immediately infused some energy into a lineup that sorely needed it all season long.
Mittelstadt Added a Different Element to Bruins’ Attack
Mittelstadt, the eighth overall selection from the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, has shown throughout his NHL career that he can be an electric player to watch on the ice. Though there are certainly knocks on his game, ranging from his consistency in his own defensive zone, as well as being a little loose with the puck at times, Mittelstadt has shown the ability to score in the NHL while also being a player-driver. This was exactly what the Bruins got in his debut when the 26-year-old finished third amongst Bruins’ forwards with 17:55 of ice time, a hit, a blocked shot, a shot on goal and a breakout pass that set up a two-on-one break for the Bruins, leading to a Cole Koepke goal and Mittelstadt’s first point with the Bruins. Mittelstadt was also on the ice for Koepke’s goal which opened the scoring in the contest after he inadvertently blocked a breakout pass from the Lightning while skating off for a line change.
The result was a…
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