Back on March 7, 2025, the Toronto Maple Leafs made one of the biggest deadline moves of the season: they traded forward Fraser Minten, along with a 2026 first-round pick (top five protected) and a 2025 fourth-round pick, to the Boston Bruins in exchange for veteran defenseman Brandon Carlo. Carlo arrived in Toronto to help improve a solid defensive core, offering size, shutdown ability, and penalty-kill experience.
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz did not travel with the team for the road trip, as he recovers from an upper-body injury, head coach Craig Berube confirmed via Sportsnet's Luke Fox. Stolarz sustained the injury against the Boston Bruins on November 11 and has been out of action since. Joseph Woll will make his sixth consecutive start on Friday, when the Maple Leafs face off against the Washington Capitals. Dennis Hildeby is widely expected to start Saturday's contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Toronto has struggled out of the gate in a big way. From sloppy defensive coverage, to underachieving superstars, to injury woes, it has not been pretty through the first month of the 2025-26 season. Treliving has been rumoured to be searching for a top-six forward on the trade market, and also a right-handed top-four defenceman, but there's one serious problem. The Maple Leafs' GM has nothing to work with in negotiations.
