The Toronto Maple Leafs ended speculation about defenseman Brandon Carlo by jettisoning him to the St. Louis Blues on Day 2 of the 2026 NHL Draft.
The 29-year-old blueliner had been on the trade block since the NHL trade deadline. But it came down to the NHL Draft for a deal to go through. In the end, the Leafs got two third-round picks in this year’s draft.
The picks officially belonged to the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils.
That return is no doubt a slap in the face to Maple Leafs fans everywhere. Former GM Brad Treliving sent Fraser Minten and a first-round pick to the Boston Bruins for Carlo at the 2025 trade deadline.
While the pick ended up becoming Gavin McKenna, the Leafs won’t be able to skip out on next year’s pick anyway. So, there’s still room for that pick to blow up in Toronto’s face. And as for Minten, there’s still time for him to make the Leafs look even sillier.
But John Chayka did the best he could. He got the best deal possible for a player with a limited no-trade clause. St. Louis wasn’t likely on Carlo’s trade list, so that’s the best Chayka could do.
Sure, those third-round picks could turn into something. But that’s not really likely. The only real benefit the Maple Leafs got from this trade was cap space. The Leafs now have an extra $4.1 million, potentially opening the door for the club to make a run at someone big on the trade market.
Could Carlo Trade Open Door for Jason Robertson?
After clearing Carlo’s cap hit, the Leafs have over $22 million in cap space. That situation could open the door for even more speculation about Jason Robertson.
Robertson, brother of Leafs player Nick Robertson, reportedly turned down a $15 million AAV offer from the Seattle Kraken. As such, he wouldn’t come cheap for the Maple Leafs. The chatter, nonetheless, suggests that Jason could be willing to head to Toronto to join Nick.
That’s an interesting proposition. The Leafs do have the cap space, but it would be a matter of seeing if they could scare up enough pieces to make a trade work with the Dallas Stars.
The two third-rounders could help round out the package, but it would be a matter of seeing if such a deal could have any legs.
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Maple Leafs Setting Themselves Up for Something Big
So, even if the Maple Leafs don’t land Jason Robertson, they’re still setting themselves up for something big. It could be a trade or potentially signing someone on the free-agent market.
There will be a couple of interesting options on the free-agent market, should they get to July 1 without re-signing with their current teams.
With the way the trade market has gone, it’s likelier the Maple Leafs may have something else going on in the background. The Darren Raddysh acquisition was a fantastic start. So, it will be a matter of seeing if John Chayka has someone else in his sights to round out the team’s defensive corps moving forward.
Maple Leafs Carlo Trade with Blues a Slap in the Face