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There is no secret that the Boston Bruins want to acquire a right-handed defenseman. General manager Don Sweeney previously attempted to land Rasmus Andersson back in January to fill this void. Although the move failed, the exec would love to revisit a move for the unrestricted free agent. Nevertheless, Andersson is expected to re-sign with the Vegas Golden Knights in the coming weeks.

Boston was also heavily linked with Darren Raddysh before he signed a long-term deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 19. With their top two targets seemingly unavailable, the Bruins will have to go to plan C. According to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa, this could just be Brandon Carlo. The right-shot blueliner previously played eight and a half seasons with Boston before being dealt in 2025.

“One league source, granted anonymity to speak about discussions that aren’t public, said there have at least been internal conversations about the possibility of bringing back from the Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Brandon Carlo, who would fill a need at right defense,” writes Shinzawa. “The Leafs’ asking price is unknown.”

In exchange for Carlo, the Bruins acquired young forward Fraser Minten and draft picks from Toronto. Minten took a fairly significant step forward in his development this past season. The center recorded 35 points and an impressive +21 rating during his first full NHL season. Assuming Boston does land Carlo, picking up Minten in the mix would be widely seen as good business.

Boston Bruins Can Acquire Brandon Carlo for Draft Picks

GettyBrandon Carlo previously played for the Boston Bruins from 2016 to 2025.

While Shinzawa is unsure what Toronto would want for Carlo, other NHL insiders have provided some clues. NHL insider Chris Johnston is reporting that the Maple Leafs want two “mid-range” draft picks to offload the defender. According to Puckpedia.com, the Boston Bruins have the necessary draft selections to strike a deal. Boston has seven picks from rounds two to four over the next two years.

As Johnston points out, Carlo is set to enter his final year under contract in Toronto. Despite being viewed as a solid defender, the veteran has not played particularly well with the Maple Leafs. Because of this, it is no surprise that Toronto is looking to offload Carlo. If they keep him, they risk not receiving anything for the defender as he finishes out his current contract.

The Bruins, however, would be hopeful that the blueliner returns to his previous form in Boston. Giving up two mid-level draft picks would also not exactly be an overly risky move by Sweeney. This is even more the case considering the club has five first-round picks in the next three years.

Boston May Be Running Out of Realistic Options

Potentially bringing back Carlo may not be the sexiest move the Boston Bruins can make. After all, the defender is not in the same category as Andersson or Raddysh. Nevertheless, Boston could very well be running out of legitimate options in looking for a right-shot defenseman.

On top of this, Carlo fits in Sweeney’s preferred age range for new players. It was previously reported that the exec would like to acquire players around the same age as Jeremy Swayman (27), Charlie McAvoy (28), and David Pastrnak (30). Carlo is currently 29 and will turn 30 around the beginning of the 2026-27 season.