Bruins Reportedly Trading Charlie Coyle To Avalanche For Veteran Center

UPDATE (7:15 p.m. ET): The Bruins announced Friday they traded forward Charlie Coyle and a 2026 fifth-round draft pick to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forwards Casey Mittelstadt and William Zellers and a 2025 second-round pick.

The Bruins will receive whichever second-round pick the Avalanche currently own that results in a lower placement in the NHL draft order.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Bruins are sending a forward to Colorado, but it’s not who you might have guessed.

Boston is reportedly trading veteran center Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche in a deal that will send Casey Mittelstadt back to the Bruins ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline, per multiple reports. The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa was the first to report the news of the agreement and Coyle’s involvement.

Colorado will also send prospect Will Zellers and a second-round pick to the Bruins, according to Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco.

Mittelstadt just signed a three-year, $17.25 million contract last summer. He has 11 goals and 23 assists in 63 games this season with the Avalanche. He’s a familiar face for the Bruins after spending the first six-plus seasons of his career with the Buffalo Sabres. His best season came in 2022-23 when he scored 15 goals and added 44 assists for Buffalo.

The Avalanche drafted Zellers in the third round of the 2024 draft. The Minnesota native is having a very nice season with Green Bay in the USHL where he has scored 37 goals with 21 assists in just 40 games for the Gamblers. He has been especially effective recently, scoring eight goals in his last seven games.

Coyle, a Weymouth, Mass., native, has been with the Bruins since 2019 when they acquired him in a deadline deal with the Minnesota Wild. The 33-year-old has been a mainstay in the Boston lineup since then, appearing in 82 games in three straight seasons. He had the best season of his career last year when he scored a career-high 25 goals to go along with 35 assists. Coyle is signed through next season at $5.25 million per season.

For reaction to this and anything else the Bruins do ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline, be sure to tune in to NESN’s “NHL Trade Deadline Special Live” at 2:30 p.m. ET on NESN and NESN 360.

The story is developing and will be updated as information becomes available.