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One Specific Leafs Defenseman May Be On the Move as the Team Looks for Scoring Help

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated Jul 19, 2025 10:15 AM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs lack some high level scoring on their current roster, and now a report has revealed Brandon Carlo may be moved as they look to add talent.

The Toronto Maple Leafs moved Mitch Marner earlier this off-season in a sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights, and while they've replaced his entire salary, they've done so with bottom-six forwards.

While they may head into 2025/26 with more depth up front, they'll miss the scoring punch that Marner consistently provided, and although Matias Maccelli has potential, he's never going to be as good as No. 16 was for Toronto.

That's left this team with a major hole in the top-six as they look to add big time scoring ahead of the regular season to pair with Auston Matthews and William Nylander at the top of the lineup.

Now, we may know one of the assets they're going to use to try and beef up that top-six, as a report from Nick Kypreos has noted that veteran Brandon Carlo, who was acquired at the trade deadline last season is the name most likely to be moved in any potential deal.

After landing in Toronto, Carlo was rock steady as expected, posting 3 assists in 33 combined regular season/post-season games with the team, but given what this team needs right now with their lack of scoring, it's easy to see why he's reportedly expendable.

Ultimately, Toronto's forward group is just lacking the star power and the big names to drive the offense as we've seen in recent years, and while the depth is solid, until they can replace Marner on the top line, this is a team whose ceiling is certainly limited heading into 2025/26.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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