The Avalanche make one of their first big moves of the offseason

The Colorado Avalanche made one of their first key moves of the offseason on Tuesday morning.

The team announced they’ve re-signed center Casey Mittelstadt to a three-year contract. It’s reportedly worth $5.75 million a year, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

3 years, $5.75M AAV https://t.co/lkxRXlNp75

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 25, 2024

Mittelstadt was acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres in March, coming over in exchange for promising young defenseman Bowen Byram. After the Avalanche have desperately tried to find a second-line center since Nazem Kadri left town in the summer of 2022, Mittelstadt appears to finally be the answer.

“Casey was a great fit for our lineup and a big contributor to our team down the stretch and in the playoffs,” Avs GM Chris MacFarland said in a release. “His game has improved every season and he took yet another big jump this past year. We believe he has an even higher level to reach and it was important to get him signed for several years.”

Mittelstadt had 10 points in 18 regular season games with Colorado and another nine points in 11 playoff games. Those 19 combined points came on seven goals and 10 assists.

“Casey is an exciting, playmaking center with good vision and hands and at just 25 years old is going to be a big part of our team moving forward,” MacFarland concluded.

At the time of the trade, Mittelstadt was leading the Sabres in points last season with 47 total in 62 games. He’ll be more of a complimentary piece in Colorado for years to come, with the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen on the roster.

Free agent forward Jonathan Drouin remains another big priority for the Avalanche this offseason, but with Mittelstadt done, hopefully Drouin is next to re-sign.