The Leafs have a clear way to boost Brandon Carlo’s trade value

As the Maple Leafs and Brad Treliving look towards a potential retooling of the team, there are several veterans who could be on the move and their potential hauls range from decent to potentially lucrative.

Names like Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi, and Nic Roy have all been named as potential trade candidates, but there's also one who could bring back a great return -- with a catch.

If the Maple Leafs wanted to deal Brandon Carlo; the player they gave up Fraser Minten for (a decision they regret surely), then they are certain to have a lot of suitors given that he's a right-handed shot, big, physical, and known to be as shutdown as can be.

Though the team would get a fair amount for him, they can get even more according to analysts Chris Johnston and James Mirtle.

Both men touched on potential Maple Leafs trade candidates for the retool and mentioned Carlo as a player who could bring back a lot more than expected but only if the team decides to eat some salary:

Carlo was supposed to be the answer for the Morgan Rielly partner situation and while he was good in flashes, it wasn't at all close to what he was doing in Boston.

Couple that with a foot injury that sidelined him this season, he's had a rough go meanwhile Minten is not only thriving in Boston but could end up being one of their stars of the future.

If Toronto were to retain 50% salary on his contract, that would be a hit of $1.742M which is still a fair bit of money, but if that is the price to pay to bring in a second round pick on top of a potential roster player or prospect then it'll be fine especially knowing the cap is rising steadily.

Toronto will have a lot of money to play with this summer and if they work the money right, they can use a couple million to make sure Carlo heads elsewhere while also getting a good haul in return.

This isn't about trying to win games to make the playoffs, and the team we've seen is nowhere near a contender. So instead they should look to deal from what they have and get something out of it, or it might be Brad Treliving's downfall.

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