The Brandon Carlo era with the Toronto Maple Leafs officially concluded on Saturday, as he was dealt by new Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka to the St. Louis Blues.
In return, the Maple Leafs received picks No. 73 and 76 in the 2026 NHL Draft.
It brought an end to Carlo’s time with the Maple Leafs after he was acquired in 2025 from the divisional rival Boston Bruins for forward Fraser Minten, a top-5 protected 2026 1st round pick and a 2025 4th round pick; the Bruins also retained part of his salary.
Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka Speaks After Trading Brandon Carlo
According to Chayka, trading Carlo to the Blues not only afforded the defenseman a fresh opportunity, but gained them valuable draft capital in return.
“Ultimately we felt the value was there for us in terms of future value and opportunity today to kind of restock the cupboards a bit,” he said. “And for Brandon it was a fresh start and so I think that’s important to him.”
In his first and only full season with the Maple Leafs, Carlo was limited to just 55 games and registered seven assists.
He was originally selected by the Bruins in the second round (37th overall pick) of the 2015 NHL Draft, and would eventually make his debut with the club in the 2016-17 season, scoring six goals with 10 assists. Eventually he would help the Bruins reach the 2019 Stanley Cup Final against his future club, the Blues, who ultimately won the series in seven games.
In the 692 career games he’s skated in during regular season play, Carlo has scored 29 goals with 90 assists for 119 points, while registering 381 penalty minutes.
He’s also added five goals and nine assists in 85 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong Is Excited To Add Brandon Carlo
Speaking to media members, Blues GM Doug Armstrong spoke glowingly about Carlo’s physical abilities and how he anticipates him to round out their top-four defensemen.
“We’re excited he has his size and length, his ability to kill plays, and his experience,” Armstrong said. “It allows us to have four experienced players right now in (Philip) Broberg and (Colton) Parayko, (Cam) Fowler, and Carlo, now. And we have those younger guys who are going to push and prod and try and work their way in there.”
Armstrong continued by saying Carlo’s addition should help the club be more competitive than they were last season, which resulted in them missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in three years.
“The way we were set before, we were going to rely on three young players to take a big role, and things that we’ve tried to accomplish the last few days of getting stronger up front and having strong goaltending, we think we’re going to be more competitive than we were last year,” he continued. “And adding a defenseman there that can make us stronger and also provide us the ability to let the younger players come in at a more natural pace, and also provide us depth for injuries was important for us.”
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