Facing a salary cap crunch, the Colorado Avalanche freed up space by a trade of centre Charlie Coyle and winger Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a pair of draft picks and winger prospect Gavin Brindley. The deal gives Colorado $8.95 million of cap space heading into free agency early next week. Meanwhile, this trade does the trick of adding key assets.
Trade details:
To #CBJ:
C Charlie Coyle
LW Miles WoodTo #GoAvsGo:
CBJ 2025 3rd Round Pick
Cond. 2027 2nd Round Pick (CBJ or MIN)
F Gavin BrindleyColorado clears $7.75 million off the cap moving both Coyle and Wood.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 27, 2025
What the Charlie Coyle Trade Means for Colorado
Coyle was a mid-season trade acquisition by Colorado. He came over from Boston in a trade that saw former Avalanche Casey Mittelstadt, prospect Will Zellers, and draft picks heading to the Bruins. Moving off of Coyle and Wood leaves a hole in the teams bottom six, specifically the third line. With Ross Colton falling out of favour as a centre option throughout last season, Colorado will likely be looking to utilize their new cap space in filling the third-line centre hole.
The cap space also allows the Avalanche the space to explore re-signing blueliner Ryan Lindgren and skilled winger Jonathan Drouin. In terms of the assets coming into the organization, Colorado receives their highest draft pick for the upcoming 2025 draft with the third-round pick, while the 2027 second likely becomes a future trade asset. Brindley coming into the organization, instantly becomes the teams top forward prospect. An undersized winger, Brindley struggled in his first pro season last year, but has high offensive upside after scoring 91 points in 81 games across two years at the University of Michigan.
What is Columbus Getting
The Blue Jackets were the surprise of the league last season, falling just short of a playoff birth. Moreover, they finished two points behind Montreal in the Eastern Conference wild card race. Adding Charlie Coyle via trade was a strong move. In Coyle, Columbus brings in a reliable, middle-six centre, who can contribute secondary offence. Coyle is only a season removed from his career year, where he notched 25 goals and 60 points with the Boston Bruins.
In Wood, the Blue Jackets receive a bottom-six winger, who struggled down the stretch after returning from injury last season, netting four goals and eight points in 37 games. Wood was signed by the Avalanche during the 2023 offseason, and offered a wrecking ball type player with 107 hits when first arriving in the Mile High City. With these additions, the Jackets bolster their bottom six, aiming to insulate their top end young talent.
Main Photo: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
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