NHL
By James Mirtle, Harman Dayal and Corey Pronman
The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NHL trade deadline.
Maple Leafs get: Defenseman Brandon Carlo, Pittsburgh’s 2025 fifth-round pick
Bruins get: First-round pick in 2026, prospect Fraser Minten
Penguins get: Defenseman Conor Timmins, forward Connor Dewar
James Mirtle: Two massive Atlantic Division rivals, pulling off a blockbuster right as the clock hit 3 p.m. on the trade deadline.
Sure, Bruins captain Brad Marchand went to Florida and there was the Dylan Cozens for Josh Norris deal earlier in the day. But we’re here for Boston sending 28-year-old man mountain Brandon Carlo – a career-long, 617-game Bruins stalwart – to the Maple Leafs for a big bag of futures.
Advertisement
And, hey, even Kyle Dubas got involved!
For the Bruins, they did very well for moving essentially their No. 4 defenseman during a down season. Getting a first-round pick and a quality prospect in Fraser Minten is a solid haul, even in this inflated market and with 15 percent retention (roughly $600,000) for the next two years.
It took some boldness to deal within the division, for sure, and that likely paid off with a higher return, given how strong the fit was for Toronto.
But Boston has depth on D to spare, and this deal isn’t throwing in the towel on next season necessarily. They could still flip that first for something in the offseason. And Minten, who was chosen 38th in the 2022 draft, may be ready to contribute as a depth center as soon as next year. He certainly has the defensive acumen that will allow him to have a long career as a Bruin.
The Leafs, meanwhile, desperately needed an upgrade on the back end, especially given how their depth defenders had struggled of late. Carlo will get a chance to come in and stabilize the second pairing with Morgan Rielly, who’s had a really tough season with a variety of partners.
Carlo’s strength is what this Craig Berube team’s identity is built around, too: using his size to defend the blue line on entries and then controlling the front of the net. He’s not great with the puck, which is why the partnership with Rielly makes sense, but he’ll be far more reliable than Conor Timmins or Philippe Myers in that safe-minutes, right-side role.
Carlo’s presence will also allow the Leafs to play Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the third pair, as he did last year during Florida’s Cup run, which should give those minutes a big boost.
The Penguins rounded out the deal by acquiring a couple Toronto castoffs for not a whole lot. Possibly they can convert those players into picks in the offseason or a year from now at next year’s deadline, when they’ll likely continue to be very bad.
Advertisement
Leafs grade: B+
Bruins grade: A
Penguins grade: B-
Harman Dayal: The Leafs unquestionably needed to add another quality defenseman to round out their blue line. And preferably a righty since Jake McCabe, Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are left-handed.
Brandon Carlo should be a strong fit. He is stout defensively because of his long reach and smooth skating. He’s rangy, kills plays defending the rush and wins battles down low and near the front of the net. You can trust him to play tough matchups and he’s an excellent penalty killer, too.
Carlo has struggled a bit this year but it’s worth noting that his regular partner, Hampus Lindholm, has only been healthy for 17 games. Without Lindholm, Carlo’s played with partners that aren’t top-four caliber in Nikita Zadorov (307 five-on-five minutes together), Parker Wotherspoon (172 five-on-five minutes together) and Jordan Oesterle (147 five-on-five minutes together). That’s important context for the decline in his two-way analytics this season.
Some of Carlo’s defensive value is negated by how limited he is with the puck — the Bruins have historically generated fewer shots, chances and goals offensively during Carlo’s five-on-five minutes — but he’s a sturdy defense-first second-pairing contributor.
The price Toronto paid is hefty but fair considering the seller’s market and the two years of term Carlo has left on his contract beyond this season.
Boston cashed in on Carlo for a pretty lucrative haul to power its retool/rebuild. The first-round pick will be nice to bolster a thin prospect pool.
Fraser Minten was arguably the Leafs’ second-best prospect. The 20-year-old may not have the highest offensive ceiling but his IQ, work rate and projectable size give him the chance to develop into an intelligent, defensive-minded third-line center.
Advertisement
The Penguins’ part of this trade is relatively inconsequential. Connor Dewar and Conor Timmins are both fringe NHLers. Dewar is a speedy fourth-liner but is a black hole offensively. Timmins is a right-shot defenseman with decent puck skills but he’s defensively unreliable and needs to be pretty heavily sheltered.
Leafs grade: B+
Bruins grade: A-
Penguins grade: C+
Corey Pronman: Carlo is a very tall right-shot defenseman who skates quite well for a guy his size. He’s a competitive player and a strong defender who can make a lot of stops at the NHL level. His puck play is ordinary and he isn’t known for his offense but he’s a guy who will bring size to Toronto in the playoffs.
Minten is a recent high second-round pick by Toronto who has been solid as a rookie pro this season. He’s not a spectacular player in any fashion but he has good hands, very good hockey sense and works hard at both ends of the ice on top of having a good shot. His skating is just OK. I wouldn’t call his offensive play anything special. He could have an impact in middle-six minutes. If he’s a center, he could play on a third line.
Boston gets two quality young assets in this deal. Toronto gets a player who can help for several playoff runs as it tries to win with this core. Pittsburgh adds depth players management is familiar with for little cost.
Leafs grade: B+
Bruins grade: B-
Penguins grade: B
(Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

source