An approach to the cap crunch situation that I haven't seen discussed here much is to go short term (2-3 years) with Mittelstadt to keep his AAV at $5m or less.
I think the Avs might HAVE to go bridge with Mitts to get under the cap next year, and they may still lose Drouin, Manson/Lehky, and perhaps most or all of the other newcomers.
Which would mean Mitts would likely walk to UFA in 2-3 years.
Maybe the Avs pull another rabbit out of the hat with an RFA contract, but $5M seems pretty unlikely. Doesn't seem to match some of his comps.
Zegras is a very comparable player, with comparable stats, and looking to prove himself, and his bridge was 6.89% of the cap. Which would be $6,042,530 under an $87.7M cap next year.
Cirelli and Terry are good comps for long term deals. Their cap percentage would put Mitts at $6,647,660 - $7,349,260 on a 7-8 year deal.
My guess is Mitts would get $5.75-6M on a 2-3 year deal or $7M long term. Both will cause issues next year.
Casey Mittelsdadt
Position - C/W
Career High - Currently on a 19 goal 61 point pace - 0.74 pts/gm
Trevor Zegras
Position - C
AAV/Term - $5.75M x 3
Cap % - 6.89%
Career High When Signed - 23 goals 65 points in 81 games - 0.78 pts/gm
Anthony Cirelli
Position - C
AAV/Term - $6.25M x 8
Cap % - 7.58%
Career High When Signed - 16 goals 44 points in 68 games - 0.65 pts/gm
Troy Terry
Position - C/W
AAV/Term - $7M x 7
Cap % - 8.38%
Career High When Signed - 37 goals 67 points in 75 games - 0.89 pts/gm
