Leafs trade D Brandon Carlo to the Blues for two 3rd-round picksGreg WyshynskiJun 27, 2026, 12:15 PM ETClose
- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
The Toronto Maple Leafs traded veteran defenseman Brandon Carlo to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, as new GM John Chayka continues to aggressively reconfigure their roster.
The Blues traded picks No. 73 and 76 on the second day of the NHL Draft in Buffalo.
Carlo, 29, is a defensive defenseman entering his 11th NHL season. He had 7 assists in 55 games last season, averaging 19:22 per game. Overall, Carlo has 29 goals and 90 assists (119 points) in 692 career games for the Leafs and Boston Bruins.
Editor’s Picks
Trade grades for all the NHL draft week swaps: Peterka, Dorofeyev, Byram, Tkachuk, more
NHL draft tracker: Iginla (Flames), Alalauri (Blackhawks) first off the board in Round 3
The Leafs paid dearly to get him at the 2025 trade deadline, sending a conditional 2026 first-rounder, a 4th-rounder and promising center Fraser Minten to the Bruins. The pick was top-10 protected — since Toronto won the draft lottery and selected Gavin McKenna first overall, that pick shifts to 2028 for the Bruins.
Former Toronto GM Brad Treliving acquired Carlo to contend for a championship in 2024-25, before losing to the Florida Panthers in seven games in the second round. But the bottom fell out for Toronto last season, dropping 30 points in the standings, missing the playoffs and replacing Treliving with Chayka.
This is the fourth trade Chayka has made since taking over the Leafs. His most significant one also involved a defenseman: Darren Raddysh of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who was expected to be the top unrestricted free agent blueliner this offseason until the Leafs got him on an 8-year deal.
In Carlo, the Blues add a strong veteran defender to the right side of their blue line, where they also have Colton Parayko and Logan Mailloux. Carlo has one more year on his contract with a $3.485 million cap hit.
St. Louis has also had an aggressive offseason, trading winger Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals for a package that included center Connor McMichael and sending two first-round picks to the Anaheim Ducks for center Mason McTavish.
