Three Players the Toronto Maple Leafs Could Trade to Shake Up Their Roster

The Toronto Maple Leafs are going through it right now. Saturday night’s 3-2 loss in Chicago to the Blackhawks brought their winless streak up to five, and the tension is mounting in the hotbed of hockey.

It’s hard to expect much drastic change given how early it is in the season, but during the Saturday Headlines portion of Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that Brad Treliving is looking to make roster-for-roster trades.

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That, of course, won’t include any of the core in Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Matthew Knies, John Tavares, or Morgan Rielly, for now at least. 

Everyone else is fair game, though, so let’s take a look at three Maple Leafs that could find themselves on the move in the near future should the front office follow through on their desires with actions.

Brandon Carlo

The buyer’s remorse is real, and it could result in the Maple Leafs already moving on from last year’s deadline acquisition, which they almost did this offseason. 

While it’s been ugly thus far in 2025-26 for Carlo, he still could have some value at 28 years old on a reasonable $4.1 million contract for the next two years, which makes it fair to expect a decent player in any return.

Teams are always searching for right-handed defensemen, so despite his recent struggles, that should result in a solid market for the 6-foot-5, 227-pound blue liner. 

Nick Robertson

When is this guy not on the trade block? It feels like Robertson has been in rumors throughout the entirety of his career in Toronto, and at some point, something’s got to give.

The 24-year-old has had a really strong start to the campaign, so while it would feel odd to move him now, his increased value could make it the perfect time to sell high and get the inevitable out of the way.

Every team in the league can stomach his $1.825 million cap hit, which should generate significant interest and provide the Maple Leafs with the opportunity to land a much better return than they could have gotten in previous years.

A Goaltender 

This one may be controversial, but to get something of value, you have to give up something of value. They don’t have the draft picks or prospects, and don’t want to move any core players, so everything needs to be on the table, including a Joseph Woll or Anthony Stolarz.

Both are very good goaltenders, but neither has shown the ability to stay healthy and handle a big workload, so the Maple Leafs rarely find themselves with their tandem at full strength. Acquiring a more reliable player for one of them could be a savvy play by Treliving, and it has to be considered, given how much is off the table in Toronto. 

Dennis Hildeby has proven that he deserves a longer leash at the NHL level, so why not test it out and see if he can be a steady backup, allowing you to improve the roster in front of the goalies?

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