Grading the Maple Leafs’ Trade for Brandon Carlo

For the Bruins, this trade came moments after they traded away Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers. It sent a message around the NHL that they are heading toward a rebuild/retool, especially after trading two impactful players to divisional rivals. The deal saw the Maple Leafs part with Fraser Minten, a 2026 1st-round pick, and a 2025 4th-round pick (PHI) for Carlo, whose contract was retained by 15%.

Maple Leafs Get a Right-Handed Defenseman With Term

Maple Leafs Grade: A

It was widely speculated that Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving didn’t want to acquire players as rentals. He wanted to bring in players he could sign to an extension or who already had term. He successfully did that with both deals he pulled off today. However, the Carlo trade is a bit different. This trade put the final touches on his big, strong, physical blue line that Treliving loves to have. He added Carlo, who has three years left on his contract, and got Boston to retain 15% ($615,000) of his cap hit to make the money work.

Carlo, 28, is a six-foot-five, 220-pound shutdown specialist who will fit in very well under head coach Craig Berube’s system. Between him, Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, and Simon Benoit, the Maple Leafs may have the best shutdown defensive core in the NHL. He isn’t known to score a ton—this season, he has one goal and nine assists for 10 points—but he can throw hits and put his body in the shooting lane.

He has 64 hits and 119 blocks, which will give the Maple Leafs a shot blocker on their top two pairings. With the salary retention from the Bruins, Carlo will be making $3.4 million, which is very similar to what McCabe’s contract looked like when he was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2022.

Boston Gets a Reliable Young Center

Bruins Grade: A-

If there is one thing the Bruins are used to having, it is good centers. Today, they not only got Casey Mittelstadt in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche, but they also got a young future stud in Minten. Minten was a prospect that every Maple Leafs fan was high on. At just 20 years old, he is already known to be very responsible and plays a good 200-foot game. Does that remind you of anyone, Bruins fans? No, I’m not directly comparing him and his skill level to the legendary Patrice Bergeron. But if the organization has someone who can be reliable on both sides of the rink and can be a piece to build the future around, it’ll help with their rebuild/retool, similar to when they drafted Bergeron.

Minten is that—he can be a good second-line center but has the potential to stretch into a first-line player depending on his line mates. Right now, it looks like he will be starting in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, but that could change, and if it does, Bruins fans will be impressed with how good of a player he is.

Along with Minten, the Bruins got a 2026 1st-round pick and a 2025 4th-round pick (PHI), which will help bring new young talent into the organization. The Bruins are a good organization that develops very strong players, so between Minten and the players they select with these draft picks, they will likely develop impact players down the road.