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. The Bruins are retaining 15% of his cap hit, bringing it down to $3.5 million per season for Toronto.
“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 right-shot defenseman has spent his entire nine-year NHL career with Boston after being drafted 37th overall in 2015.
Carlo averages nearly 20 minutes of ice time throughout his career, including 18:48 per night this season. He has recorded one goal and eight assists in 63 games during the 2024-25 campaign.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound stay-at-home defenseman has also contributed 119 blocked shots and 64 hits this season.
Carlo could pair with Morgan Rielly on Toronto’s second defensive pairing. With this acquisition, the Maple Leafs’ projected defense at full health looks like:
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Jake McCabe | Chris Tanev |
| Morgan Rielly | Brandon Carlo |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | Philippe Myers |
| Simon Benoit |
This marks Toronto’s second significant acquisition on deadline day. The Maple Leafs added third-line center Scott Laughton earlier Friday.
To become cap compliant after acquiring Carlo, Toronto traded forward Connor Dewar and defenseman Conor Timmins to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fifth-round pick.
Heading to Boston is 20-year-old center Fraser Minten, one of Toronto’s top prospects. Minten has split this season between the NHL and AHL.
He’s recorded six goals and seven assists in 26 games with the Toronto Marlies while adding two goals and two assists in 15 games with the Maple Leafs.
