The Maple Leafs traded Brandon Carlo to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, ending the defenceman’s time in Toronto after only 75 games.The Leafs received a pair of third-round picks, Nos. 73 and 76 in this draft, a markedly lower return than the cost to acquire him in the first place.Carlo is the latest defender to be shipped out as new GM John Chayka overhauls the blue line.Chayka dealt Simon Benoit to Philadelphia earlier this month and is looking to find Morgan Rielly a new home this offseason.As predicted, Gavin McKenna goes No. 1The Athletic Hockey ShowUpon taking over as Leafs GM, Chayka said that remaking the defence would be a priority. He brought Darren Raddysh in on an eight-year contract last week and acquired Emil Andrae in the deal that sent Benoit and Joseph Woll to the Flyers.Chayka appears intent on injecting more mobility, puck-moving ability, and offence to the back end.
Those are not strengths of Carlo’s game.The 6-foot-5, 227-pound defender better fit the length and defence-first approach favoured by Brad Treliving, Chayka’s predecessor who was fired as GM in March and who acquired Carlo from the Bruins ahead of the 2025 trade deadline.The acquisition cost turned out to be more significant than imagined: Young centre Fraser Minten and a first-round pick that is expected to be paid out in the 2028 draft after nearly landing just outside the top five in this draft.The thinking on the deal was sound at the time: Carlo would fill a hole next to Rielly on the blue line of a team with Stanley Cup aspirations.He had two additional years on his contract, which meant the Leafs would have him for three playoff runs potentially.The Bruins retained money in the deal too, which brought Carlo’s cap hit down to just $3.48 million.Carlo was fine for the Leafs in the playoff run last spring which ended in the second round, but struggled mightily early last season only to suffer a foot injury that knocked him out for an extended period.What made things worse: The Leafs, as a team, scuffled mightily in a way that management hadn’t anticipated. Which meant the prospect of handing over their first round pick, if it fell outside the top five.Ultimately, the Leafs lucked out. They won the lottery and held onto their pick, which they used to select Gavin McKenna first overall on Friday night.Chayka opted to recoup whatever value he could by moving Carlo now, ahead of the final year of his deal.Jun 27, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
