The Toronto Maple Leafs have been off to a slow start and could look to make a move to spark their team.
Heavy.com has a trade idea that sees the Toronto Maple Leafs dealing Brandon Carlo to the Utah Mammoth in a one-for-one swap.
Maple Leafs acquire:
Mammoth acquire:
- Brandon Carlo
- 2027 fifth-round pick
The proposed deal would be an intriguing one as Utah would get a top-four NHL defenseman right now and a mid-round pick for a top defensive prospect. The Mammoth are off to a hot start and should be buyers at the deadline, and dangling Lamoureux makes sense.
Toronto would acquire Maveric Lamoureux, who’s just 21 years old and should push for NHL playing time this season. The 6-foot-6 defenseman was selected 29th overall in 2022 by the franchise, but he has struggled to make the NHL roster. Lamoureux has skated in 15 career NHL games, recording 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points. In the AHL this season, he’s recorded 4 assists in 12 games. Lamoureux would add some youth to the Maple Leafs roster and be a physical, third-pairing defenseman.
In return, the Maple Leafs would deal a fifth-round pick and Carlo. Toronto traded a first-round pick and Fraser Minten for Carlo at last year’s trade deadline, but it hasn’t worked out. Carlo is in the fifth year of his six-year, $24.6 million deal. Carlo would be a top-four right-shot defenseman for Utah. He can play a shutdown role and eat minutes down the stretch and hopefully into the playoffs for the Mammoth. Carlo has recorded 2 assists in 17 games this season.
Maple Leafs Have ‘Buyer’s Remorse’ on Carlo
Toronto made a bold move to acquire Carlo at last year’s trade deadline, but he has struggled with the Maple Leafs.
Carlo’s name came up in trade talks this offseason, as Toronto was open to moving him for a forward. Yet, no deal was made, but the Maple Leafs could still look to move him as they already regret the trade, according to insider James Mirtle of The Athletic.
“I think there’s buyer’s remorse for the Leafs with Carlo in the organization,” Mirtle said on The JD Bukis Podcast on Monday. “It’s telling that when they were looking at trading for a top-line winger, they were looking at moving him. In hindsight, they were looking at moving Carlo in a deal for Peterka with Buffalo. He would have been the Kesselring piece that Buffalo ended up getting. The big right-shot defenseman. In hindsight, that would have worked out pretty well.”
Ultimately, the Maple Leafs paid a high price for Carlo, so Toronto won’t move on from him for nothing. But perhaps the Maple Leafs look to trade him before the deadline, as he has struggled to fit in.
Toronto in the Midst of a 3-Game Losing Streak
The Maple Leafs have been struggling out of the gates, as Toronto is 8-8-1 and is second last in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto is on a three-game losing streak, and Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube hasn’t been pleased with his team’s play.
“We are going through some adversity right now,” Berube said postgame on Tuesday. … “Sometimes, you have to go through a tough spell, and we are right now. I liked the way we pulled it together as a group tonight in the game. That is a positive for me.
“We’ll see. We are just going to keep battling and getting better. We’ll keep helping these guys out and get some confidence back in our game. We lacked a little confidence early in the game, but when we got down, we played; we played like we can.”
Toronto will return to the ice on Thursday at home against the Los Angeles Kings.
Trade Idea Has Maple Leafs Dealing Carlo for Intriguing Prospect in 1-for-1 Swap