Brandon Carlo had prior interest from the Montreal Canadiens before being traded to St. Louis, and it helps confirm Toronto's decision to switch to a mobile blueline.
The Daily Faceoff's Marco Di Amico reported on Aug. 3 during the Campbell vs. Gallo Show that the Montreal Canadiens were in the market for a right-handed physical defenceman at last year's trade deadline, and that they targeted their rival the Toronto Maple Leafs - more specifically Brandon Carlo:
The defenseman that the Canadiens have been searching for, a big right shot guy, we heard them tied to Rasmus Ristolainen or maybe even a Brandon Carlo at the deadline.
Carlo had been an odd fit with the team since being traded from Boston in exchange for a conditional 2026 first-round pick (Top-5 protected, transferred to 2028), a 2025 fourth-round pick and prospect Fraser Minten.
He appeared in 20 games for the Maple Leafs in 2024-25 and recorded three assists, a plus-four and 38 blocks in 19:13 TOI, but his 2025-26 was a decline for the veteran defender.
He managed to appear in only 55 games after issues stemming from a prior foot surgery kept him out for nearly a month. He added seven assists and another plus-four rating to go along with 98 blocks in 19:22 TOI.
Montreal's interest highlights exactly why Brandon Carlo became expendable in Toronto
But since that fit never materialized and John Chayka was set on overhauling the roster this summer, Carlo was traded to the St. Louis Blues for the 73rd and 76th picks in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft where they selected Zac Olsen and Mads Gudmundsson.
That gave Chayka two strong assets in the pipeline with Olsen being a strong two-way centre and Gudmundsson having two-way potential the blueline.
Montreal's interest in him however shows that while they have desires to add to their shutdown defender role - the Maple Leafs are trying to shift away from that. With a need to get more mobile, the team needed to get rid of Carlo in order to do so as John Chayka said Toronto needed to prioritize mobility, puck movement and offensive help on the blueline.
The team already employs both Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe as shutdown defenders, and with the addition of Darren Raddysh, that adds not only a right-handed shot who is capable of being a competent shot blocker, but someone who adds a dynamic to the blueline they haven't had in years.
The Maple Leafs chose mobility and future value over Carlo's defensive profile
Given this was at least year's deadline, the Maple Leafs would have still employed Simon Benoit at that time, someone who can also classify as a shutdown defender who blocks shots and adds physicality, so there was an overload of one specific role.
Which is why the Maple Leafs decided to part ways with him, as they had to get quicker and more mobile. They re-signed Troy Stecher to add some puck movement, and acquired not only Raddysh but Emil Andrae from the Philadelphia Flyers in the Joseph Woll trade.
He's a mobile, pass-first defender who can help with exiting the zone quickly and safely, while still adding physicality (68 hits at only 5-foot-9).
Carlo's profile was already fulfilled by several other names on the roster, so with the need to add more prospects coupled with him being expendable - he was headed out though this Di Amico report shows he could have been gone a lot sooner.
Are you glad the Maple Leafs didn't trade Brandon Carlo to the Montreal Canadiens?
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