The Boston Bruins traded defenseman Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs for center prospect Fraser Minten, a top-five protected 2026 first-round pick, and a 2025 fourth-round pick (via the Philadelphia Flyers), the teams announced.
Carlo is under contract through 2026-27 at $4.1 million annually, per PuckPedia. The Bruins are retaining 15% of his cap hit, bringing it down to $3.5 million per season.
"Definitely a shocker when I heard that it was Toronto," Carlo said on TSN shortly after the deal was reported. "What an opportunity for me to go in there and try and help this group win."
The 28-year-old has averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time in his nine-year career, including 18:48 per night this season. He has one goal, eight assists, 119 blocked shots, and 64 hits across 63 games in 2024-25.
A right-shot, stay-at-home defenseman, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Carlo could be an ideal fit alongside Morgan Rielly in Toronto. Here are the Maple Leafs' projected defense pairings at full health:
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Jake McCabe | Chris Tanev |
| Morgan Rielly | Brandon Carlo |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | Philippe Myers |
| Simon Benoit |
Carlo had spent his entire NHL tenure with the Bruins, who drafted him 37th overall in 2015.
The Maple Leafs added third-line center Scott Laughton earlier Friday. They also traded forward Connor Dewar and defenseman Conor Timmins to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fifth-round pick to become cap compliant following the Carlo deal.
Minten was one of the Maple Leafs' top prospects. The 20-year-old center split this season between the NHL club and its AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.
He collected six goals and seven assists over 26 games with the farm team in 2024-25 and had two tallies and two helpers across 15 contests with the Leafs.
