Only One Player Makes Trading Brandon Carlo Worth It for the Maple Leafs

A lot of discussion recently has surrounded whether or not the Maple Leafs are going to make a big trade to bring in a top-six forward in order to make sure their lineup not only can compete with the likes of Florida; but hopefully replace some of Mitch Marner's lost offense.

They are going to need to deal a premium asset too, and with them lacking the draft picks or prospects necessary (outside of Easton Cowan and Ben Danford) they might need to look at the roster and deal from their surplus blueliners.

NHL analyst and Leafs Morning Take co-host Nick Alberga wrote an article regarding one of those players; that being Brandon Carlo, and why the team needs to not get rid of him.

Basically, Alberga's take is that Carlo is finally a good partner for Morgan Rielly, and the team would be back to square one if they ended up trading him.

Though, according to some, there is one player who could make a Carlo deal make sense: Jason Robertson.

Of course, Robertson would immediately be that top-six presence Toronto needs, and while losing Carlo; a partner finally fit for Morgan Rielly, is a definite hindrance, it's not like the Leafs are hurting for defensemen.

We have Rielly, Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Simon Benoit, and Henry Thrun; not to mention Philippe Myers and Dakota Mermis as more depth.

As good as the McCabe/Tanev pairing has been, they can afford to split them up for the sake of Rielly; at least for the time being.

A potential lineup without Carlo may look like this:

Rielly - Tanev

McCabe - Benoit

Ekman-Larsson - Thrun

Is that the best lineup defensively? It's not ideal but it's certainly got enough promise and skill, plus adding Robertson would give Toronto a ridiculously deep lineup:

Knies - Matthews - Robertson

Maccelli - Tavares - Nylander

Robertson - Roy - McMann

Joshua - Laughton - Lorentz

A notable few absences are Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf and Max Domi, all who are casualties thanks to bringing in Robertson and extending him. It also gives him the chance to play with his brother; something that may spark the younger Robertson too.

It changes their DNA drastically, getting rid of several old faces and replacing one superstar with another, plus; the story of the two brothers winning a Cup together sounds pretty darn nice.

It's going to take more than a 1 for 1 swap, however if the Maple Leafs are serious about adding some firepower, then Brandon Carlo is as good a trade chip as they have.