How Maple Leafs could lose 2026 NHL Draft pick after disastrous trade
The Maple Leafs' win-now trade for Brandon Carlo has aged like milk. It could still get worse.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made what they perceived was a win-now deal for defenseman Brandon Carlo at the 2025 trade deadline. It turned out to be more of a lose-indefinitely deal. Toronto is at risk of losing its first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft depending on how tonight's NHL Draft Lottery shakes out .
If the Maple Leafs' pick falls outside the top-five, they'll send their selection to the Boston Bruins as part of the Carlo deal. Let's get into how the Maple Leafs got here and what their draft lottery night could look like. The franchise-altering trade Toronto was among the NHL's best teams by the 2025 trade deadline and was looking to add the right piece to get Auston Matthews and Co.
over the dreaded playoff hump. The Leafs reportedly considered Rasmus Andersson, Mikko Rantanen, Luke Schenn and Rasmus Ristolainen before ultimately landing on Carlo, whose time in Toronto has been underwhelming and injury-ridden. In exchange for Carlo, Toronto gave up forward Fraser Minten, a 2025 fourth-round pick and a top-five protected 2026 first-round pick.
Minten has since become a rising star in Boston, while the 2026 pick has a strong chance of landing somewhere in the 5-10 range. How would Toronto keep its pick? Toronto has the fifth-best odds at picking No.