Are the Boston Bruins done making moves this summer? Apparently not, according to the latest report from insider James Murphy at rg.org. Murphy indicates that an NHL executive claims that three names are coming up again and again in trade talks as GM Don Sweeney is still looking to shake and bake before the new season begins.

The executive notes that the oft-mentioned Pavel Zacha has consistently come up, as has goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. But he adds another notable name to the list: 

I don’t know how many rumors he’s been in, but I’ve been hearing [Casey] Mittelstadt could be on the move again since before the Bruins season even ended. There was a common feeling that he wasn’t their main target when they traded for him.

The Bruins obtained Mittelstadt from the Colorado Avalanche at the trade deadline along with William Zellers and a 2025 second-round draft pick for forward Charlie Coyle and a 2026 fifth-rounder.

But Mittelstadt, says the exec, was probably the least important asset of the return for Boston. 

“I know their amateur scouts were hellbent on getting Zellers,” he told Murphy. “They were intent on restocking with picks and prospects, and he was one of the prospects they were really targeting. That was a great get by the Bruins.”

Zellers, 19, had a huge season in the USHL, with 44 goals and 71 points in 52 games with Green Bay, and has jumped to No. 6 on the Bruins’ top prospects list.

Casey Mittelstadt is a trade candidate for the Bruins

But where, then, does that leave Mittelstadt, the B’s second-line forward? 

“I think a lot of teams have been and are expecting the Bruins to flip him at some point,” added the exec. 

The 26-year-old former top-10 pick (8th overall, 2017 NHL Draft by Buffalo) has already been traded twice in the last two years, and he didn’t exactly cement himself as a core piece for Boston going forward after his arrival. In his 18 games in Beantown, he contributed just four goals and six points, with a plus/minus rating of minus-17.

Overall, he has 81 goals and 155 assists for 236 points in 438 NHL games, and has two years remaining on his contract with a $5.7 million cap hit. 

As for Zacha and Korpisalo, they continue to generate buzz as well, though Murphy reports that there is no truth to the rumor earlier this summer that the backup goalie asked for a trade. 

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