Ahead of the 2025 NHL trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired Brandon Carlo from the Boston Bruins in exchange for a package involving Fraser Minten, and the Philadelphia Flyers’ 2025 fourth-round pick, and their own 2026 first-round pick with a top-five protection.

Connor Dewar and Conor Timmins are also heading to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a separate deal, getting a draft pick in exchange for the two depth players.

Carlo is under contract through the 2026-27 season carrying a $4.1 million cap hit that will count for roughly $3.5 million against the cap, with Boston retaining 15% on his deal, and represents a significant upgrade over the Maple Leafs’ incumbent bottom-pair options. He’s a physical player who can log close to 20 minutes per game and has recorded one goal and nine points with the Bruins in 63 games. Carlo has also blocked 119 shots and delivered 64 hits and now the Maple Leafs boast two of the best shot blockers in the league, with Chris Tanev starring as the Maple Leafs’ No. 1 defenceman this season.

The 28-year-old has posted underwhelming underlying numbers that belie his reputation this year, as the Bruins controlled 43.5 percent of the expected goals when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 via Natural Stat Trick, but he’s a smart player who makes simple plays and could thrive in Craig Berube’s pragmatic, north-south system. He’s a coveted right-shot defenceman that could potentially replace Conor Timmins in the lineup.

Carlo has familiarity with the Maple Leafs after spending his entire nine-year career with the Bruins organization.

Timmins left Friday’s practice early for an undisclosed reason.

It was previously considered unthinkable that the Bruins and Maple Leafs could reach a deal as Atlantic Division rivals, but this trade is the undercard to Friday’s most shocking trade of the day. Boston traded its captain and franchise icon Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers, for a package that has yet to be finalized at the time of this filing.

Toronto acquired centre Scott Laughton, a fourth-round pick and a sixth-round pick from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a 2027 top-10 protected first-round pick and Nikita Grebenkin earlier Friday afternoon.