Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs stay in the lookout for any potential move before the NHL season. Whether it’s adding new pieces or moving on from some already in place, the Buds are leaving no stone left unturned. On that note, a report suggests the organization has closely looked into a former teammate of Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins.
It’s not a secret: the Maple Leafs need to make space in a crowded locker room. Matthews and company have more players than they can dress night in and night out, but that’s not exactly the problem in Toronto. Instead, it’s the fact the Buds only have $1.9 million available in cap space. If the Leafs want to make moves during the 2025-26 NHL season, they better move some contracts around.
On that note, Brandon Carlo has often been linked to potential moves in the NHL. The former teammate of Marchand and the Bruins arrived via trade in The Six last season but hasn’t met expectations so far. According to reports, the Leafs have at least considered the possibility of trading Carlo.
“[The Leafs] had at least thought of what would a world look like if they traded Brandon Carlo,” insider Chris Johnston said on the Leaf Report Podcast. “They were open to imagining what that would look like.”
Brandon Carlo at Scotiabank Arena on April 12, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Not so fast
Moving on from Carlo would be a risky decision for the Maple Leafs—to say the least. The former Bruins defenseman has appeared in just 20 regular-season games, and while his three-point production isn’t ideal, it’s still too early for Toronto to throw in the towel.
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Moreover, there are a series of hurdles the Leafs must overcome in order to trade Matthews’ teammate. First and foremost, Carlo’s contract includes a modified no trade clause (M-NTC). With each passing season, though, it becomes a tad more accessible for Toronto to work its way around it.
Last season, Carlo’s M-NTC included a 10-team no-trade list. Heading into the 2025-26 campaign, that list has been reduced to eight teams. By next year, it will shrink even further to just three. Still, the Leafs may have no interest in waiting it out and could instead take matters into their own hands.
What if?
While the Leafs still have work to do if they want to proceed with a Carlo trade, it remains a possibility. If it happens, Toronto would shed a $4.1 million contract. Still, even that isn’t so simple—Carlo’s trade to the Leafs included a clause in which Boston retained 15% of the cap hit. Money-wise, the Bruins are covering roughly $615K of his deal.
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If Toronto trades Carlo during the upcoming NHL season, they would free up $3.485 million in cap space. That could come in handy for the organization to pursue the lineup’s missing piece at the moment: a top-six forward.
