Toronto Trades Veteran Defenseman Brandon Carlo

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The Toronto Maple Leafs continued reshaping their roster on Saturday, trading defenseman Brandon Carlo to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for the 73rd and 76th overall selections in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Carlo appeared in 55 games for Toronto during the 2025-26 season, recording seven assists while serving as one of the team's shutdown defensemen before his season was cut short by injury. He finishes his Maple Leafs tenure having played 88 regular-season games after arriving from Boston in the blockbuster trade that sent Fraser Minten, a first-round pick, and a fourth-round pick to the Bruins.

The two third-round selections were quickly used by the Maple Leafs, who selected forward Zach Olsen from the WHL's Saskatoon Blades with the 73rd overall pick and Swedish defenseman Mans Gudmundsson at No. 76. Both prospects are viewed as developmental pieces who could strengthen Toronto's prospect pool in the coming years.

For St. Louis, the acquisition fills an immediate need on the right side of its defence core. Carlo has spent his NHL career as a reliable defensive defenseman, with the ability to match up against opposing top lines while logging heavy penalty-killing minutes.

The 29-year-old has one season remaining on the six-year contract he originally signed with the Bruins in 2021, carrying a cap hit of $4.1 million before becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Whether the trade proves successful for Toronto will ultimately depend on the development of Olsen and Gudmundsson. For now, the Maple Leafs have added two more prospects to a system that has been a major focus of the organization's offseason rebuild.