The Toronto Maple Leafs made quite a few significant moves at the trade deadline, and Daily Faceoff listed them as one of the winners.

GM Brad Treliving entered Friday having not yet made his move and ended it by acquiring Scott Laughton, Brandon Carlo, and Reese Johnson. He also completed a trade to free up some salary by shipping out Conor Timmins and Connor Dewar for a fifth-round pick.

The costs to acquire Laughton and Carlo were not cheap as the Leafs had to give up a first in each deal along with one of their top prospects in Nikita Grebenkin and Fraser Minten, respectively. Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin, who conducted the 2025 Trade Deadline winners and losers, felt that giving up those assets was worth it because it fulfills their needs and they kept up the pace with their division rivals.

“The Leafs needed a third-line center and a top-four defenseman, and the desperation of their contention window called for GM Brad Treliving to behave more aggressively than he ever has at the Deadline. Mission accomplished,” Larkin wrote. “Center Scott Laughton and D-man Brandon Carlo fill Toronto’s exact needs and justify the price of including a first-round pick (one of them conditional) in each trade and, in the Carlo deal, prospect Fraser Minten.”

Max Domi had been fulfilling the role of 3C for much of the season, but he was not a perfect fit because of his lacklustre defensive play and the overall play of the line. The collective defence was much improved compared to years past, though they lacked another option in the top four, which was made apparent when Chris Tanev suffered an injury and, as a result, the Leafs defence has been in flux ever since.

Adding in Laughton and Carlo solves those two issues in a meaningful way with the added bonus that both are excited to begin playing for the Leafs. The former should help give the third line some much-needed identity and a better defensive option, while the latter gives Morgan Rielly arguably the best partner he has ever had and allows Oliver Ekman-Larsson to play on the third pair where he should be more effective.

“The trades are especially worthwhile because Laughton (one more season after this one) and Carlo (two more) are both cost controlled at bargain AAVs with salary retention happening on each trade,” Larkin continued. “Yes, the Panthers look scary after today, but the Leafs did everything they could to keep pace. The race between Toronto, Florida and Tampa to not finish second or third in the Atlantic carries high stakes.”

Craig Berube will get a first look at the new acquisitions and where they fit best on Saturday when they face the Colorado Avalanche, who themselves had a busy trade deadline day by acquiring Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle. It should not take long for him to figure out where Laughton and Carlo are best situated, especially given he will want to determine his playoff lineup as soon as possible. And while Johnson isn’t likely to factor into the Leafs’ lineup, he will at the very least fill the void left behind by Minten on the Marlies.