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3 Maple Leafs who make the most sense to be traded
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Photo credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Michael Mazzei
Nov 17, 2025, 08:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 17, 2025, 00:19 EST
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The Toronto Maple Leafs remain mired in their early-season struggles, currently sitting four points out of a playoff spot and near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
They are mired in a five-game losing streak at the time of filing, and while their most recent performance was their most promising yet, it was still not enough to end the drought. There is certainly plenty of runway left for the Leafs to turn things around with the roster at their disposal, but it gets late pretty quickly in the NHL and they cannot assume things will start to click with what they have.
That’s why it came as no surprise when Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday Headlines during the latest Hockey Night in Canada broadcast that the Leafs are looking to seek a hockey trade. As far as what would be going the other way, Friedman noted that none of the core pieces would be going anywhere and they are not interested in dealing away futures such as Easton Cowan and their 2028 first-round pick.
Anyone not in that group is otherwise fair game, and it is about finding which player can present the most value in getting back a piece that better fits their needs. With that in mind, here are three players on the active roster who make the most sense to be traded in the coming weeks.

Brandon Carlo

The start of the 2025-26 season has not been kind to Carlo, who is struggling mightily with defensive clearances, boxing out opponents, and poor positioning. While it’s true that he is being asked to play a lot more than he has been accustomed to during his time with the Boston Bruins, it has been a far cry from what the Leafs anticipated when they paid quite a bit to get him at last year’s trade deadline.
For what it’s worth, GM Brad Treliving isn’t fully married to the idea of keeping Carlo on the books as reports emerged during the offseason that the towering blueliner was mentioned in trade talks. If a deal were to materialize now, Carlo would need to be the centrepiece of a deal where the Leafs get back a better puck-moving defenceman. That has been an area of concern throughout the season to this point, and while the addition of Troy Stecher should help mitigate it, more reinforcements are needed.

Simon Benoit

Some may think that Philippe Myers should be included in this exercise, but the likelihood that the Leafs would be able to get any sort of value for him on the roster is low. It’s more likely that he goes on waivers now that Stecher has arrived, which is why it makes more sense to consider the trade value of the similarly struggling Benoit. The difference between him and Myers is that the former is a more established NHLer and could fetch a better return.
Now, that’s not to say that what the Leafs would get back in a hypothetical Benoit trade would knock anyone’s socks off, especially given his defensive struggles to this point where he has been regularly getting hemmed in and taking costly penalties. But there is always a need for a shutdown defenceman on the third pairing who has a bit of size and may just need a change of scenery. The Leafs may try to find a better partner for him, but it would make more sense to dangle him in trades to see what they could get back.

Max Domi

There is no denying that Domi has the passion burning through his veins and understands the privilege that comes with being a Maple Leaf. But from a stylistic fit, he has not been a perfect match for the team as evidenced by his utilization up to this point. He was envisioned as the winger alongside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, but it never quite gelled the way many anticipated. Being used as a centre doesn’t make a ton of sense given his defensive deficiencies, and one can argue that Matias Maccelli is the better playmaker at this juncture.
While there is still time for him to turn things around and get clicking again, the overwhelming evidence suggests that Domi is not a great fit for this system. It may be in the Leafs’ best interest to see if there is a similarly struggling player out there with multiple years of control, but has better all-around value in all facets of the game.

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