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Columbus Blue Jackets acquire Charlie Coyle, Miles Wood from Colorado Avalanche
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- Columbus Blue Jackets acquire Charlie Coyle, Miles Wood from Colorado Avalanche
After missing out on New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson during trade talks, the Blue Jackets acquired forwards Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood on June 27 in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche hours before the 2025 NHL Draft.
The Blue Jackets sent forward prospect Gavin Brindley , selected in the second round of the 2023 draft (34th overall), plus their 2025 third-round pick (77th overall) and a conditional 2027 second-round pick to the Avalanche for the two veterans. Columbus has two second-round picks in 2027, so they'll get their pick of which one the Avalanche can use to satisfy the trade condition.
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"We are very excited to welcome Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets family," Blue Jackets president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell said. "Charlie is an experienced, two-way player that adds size and versatility to our group, while Miles is one of the fastest skaters in the NHL, who provides great energy and physicality. Beyond being outstanding players, both are high-character people who will fit in perfectly with our group and what we are building here in Columbus."
More: When do the Columbus Blue Jackets pick in 2025 NHL Draft? Start time, draft order
Prior to acquiring Coyle and Wood, The Athletic reported that trade talks for the Islanders' Dobson had whittled down to the Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens . Montreal won the bidding by sending bottom-six forward Emil Heineman plus the 16th and 17th overall picks in the 2025 NHL Draft to New York.
Waddell also owns two first-round picks, 14th and 20th overall, in a draft that starts June 27th with the first round and concludes June 28 with rounds 2-7. Barring a trade to add picks in the second or third rounds, the Blue Jackets now won't pick on the second day until the fourth round (109th overall). They also have two picks in the fifth, sixth and two in the seventh rounds.
DALLAS, TEXAS - APRIL 28: Roope Hintz #24 of the Dallas Stars skates with the puck against Charlie Coyle #10 of the Colorado Avalanche in the first period of Game Five of the First Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center at American Airlines Center on April 28, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Coyle has been one of the NHL's upper-echelon third-line centers for quite awhile, mainly for the Boston Bruins before they dealt him to Colorado at the league's trade deadline in March 2025. He's played as high as the second line, but would slide perfectly into the middle of the Jackets' third or fourth lines depending on the coaching staff's preference.
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Wood is a winger who's one of the NHL's fastest skaters. His skating should mesh perfectly on either the third or fourth lines, giving the Blue Jackets an instant forechecking force whose speed allows him to hound pucks and get on defensemen in the offensive zone in a blink.
Coyle, 33, finished the 2024-25 season with 17 goals, 18 assists and 35 points in 83 games split between the Bruins and Avalanche, adding one goal in seven games during the playoffs. Wood, 29, had 4-4-8 in 37 games for the Avalanche in 2024-25 before playing one playoff game.
Colorado Avalanche left wing Miles Wood (28) reaches for the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third period at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, April 3, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio.
Sean Kuraly , a veteran center, and Justin Danforth , a speedy veteran winger, are among nine unsigned, unrestricted free agents for the Blue Jackets — who might've just acquired their replacements. Kuraly, who's from Dublin, spent the past four years centering the fourth line — after leaving the Bruins to sign with Columbus as a free agent — and Danforth has played between the third and fourth lines at all three forward positions during his four seasons with the Blue Jackets.
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Wood has played 10 years in the NHL, including his first eight with the New Jersey Devils , where he was teammates with Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson . Coyle has played 950 career games for three teams, including parts of seven seasons with both the Bruins and Minnesota Wild .
Sep 30, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Gavin Brindley (45) tries to fight between Washington Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk (57) and defenseman Rasmus Sandin (38) to get to the puck during the third period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets lost 3-2.
Brindley, 20, has played one NHL game for the Blue Jackets and spent the entirety of 2024-25 playing with the AHL's Cleveland Monsters. He played in 52 games and contributed 6-11-17 before playing four playoff games without scoring a point. Brindley is a friend of Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli , playing together as teammates for one season (2022-23) at the University of Michigan.
Fantilli was then selected third overall in 2023 by the Blue Jackets, who took Brindley 34th overall to start the second round of the same draft in Nashville .
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Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets acquire Coyle, Wood from Colorado Avalanche
