The Toronto Maple Leafs may not be done reshaping their roster this offseason. According to multiple insiders, the team has been exploring ways to land another impact top-six forward. In a recent article by James Mirtle of The Athletic, one name has surfaced as potential trade bait: Brandon Carlo.
Carlo’s Value and the Leafs’ Dilemma
Mirtle argues that Carlo, a big, steady right-shot defenseman, cost Toronto a significant package earlier this summer. Moving him so soon feels risky, but the Leafs’ options are limited. Beyond Carlo, there aren’t many tradeable assets that would return a true difference-maker. Any assets that would have trade protection built into their contracts.
So too, in a league where reliable right-handed defensemen are rare, Carlo would command strong interest from teams looking to shore up their blue line.
Earlier in the offseason, Carlo was rumored to be part of exploratory talks with Buffalo for JJ Peterka before the Sabres acquired Michael Kesselring from Utah. That type of “hockey trade” — proven defense for young, top-six talent — still appears to be the template Toronto is eyeing.
Blue Line Depth Makes It Possible
Mirtle adds that the Leafs’ reshaped blue line has a glaring hole in it. It currently boasts a crowded corps that lacks a true puck mover. The squad features Morgan Rielly (the closest they have to a transition quarterback), Chris Tanev, Carlo, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Simon Benoit. That depth provides some flexibility, but it also exposes the Leafs’ lack of puck-moving ability. Mirtle specifically cited the Leafs series against Florida in last year’s playoffs, where Toronto repeatedly struggled to break out of its zone and generate sustained offensive pressure.
The Leafs don’t want a repeat scenario in 2025-26. Mirtle writes:
They’d like to somehow get another puck mover back there, which would mean moving one of the more defensive types out….Treliving and Berube have to solve that somehow, or they’ll just be hoping to get luckier next spring.
source – ‘Maple Leafs mailbag: Stolarz’s next contract, solving Domi and the 2026 UFA class’ – James Mirtle – The Athletic – 09/02/2025
By moving a defensive-minded piece like Carlo, the Leafs could not only upgrade their forward group but also pursue a more mobile, puck-moving defenseman to balance the blue line.
Two Deals or One?: Time Running Out Before Camp
What’s intriguing about Mirtle’s report is that this might mean Toronto makes more than one move. Carlo may fetch what the Leafs are looking for in one transaction, but if the idea is to acquire a top-six forward and a puck-mover, this feels like two separate trades.
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With training camp quickly approaching, the pressure is mounting on GM Brad Treliving to make his move. It starts with making Carlo available and taking the best possible return, getting at least one of the pieces Toronto has identified as a need. From there, using the cap space that potentially opens up (assuming the player coming back is cheaper than Carlo), Treliving then pushes for move two.
Players like Mattias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy, and Dakota Joshua have improved Toronto’s depth, but none of them project as game-changing additions in the top six. That might be the priority here.
If a viable trade partner emerges, moving Carlo could help Toronto secure a scoring winger to complement Auston Matthews and William Nylander — a move that might take the pressure off with Marner now gone.
The risk, of course, is opening a hole on the back end that’s hard to fill. If Toronto can’t manage the trade for the puck mover they need, they’ll have spent a lot of time last year reshaping a blue line that suddenly became incomplete.
