Leafs’ Brandon Carlo returns to lineup after missing 23 games with lower-body injury

Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenseman Brandon Carlo will return to the lineup Tuesday against the Florida Panthers after a 23-game absence with a lower-body injury, head coach Craig Berube told reporters.

Carlo, 29, has been out of the lineup since Nov. 13.

“He’s a stability guy. It’s his first game back in a long time, so we have to manage his game and his minutes,” Berube said, according to The Leafs Nation’s managing editor Arun Srinivasan. “He’s a guy who eats minutes, gets in the way, blocks shots. All that type of stuff. He’s a good defensive defenceman, penalty killer, all of that.”

In 18 games this season, Carlo has two assists and is averaging 20:04 of ice time.

He was acquired by Toronto in a deal with the Boston Bruins at the Trade Deadline last season, in a move that saw the Leafs send a first-round pick and forward prospect Fraser Minten the other way.
Now in his 10th season, the Colorado Springs, Colo., native has 29 goals and 85 assists for 114 points, averaging 19:48 of ice time in 655 career regular-season games with the Leafs and Bruins.

Carlo has also played in 85 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, where he’s recorded five goals and nine assists for 14 points, averaging 20:26 of ice time. He was part of the Bruins’ 2019 Stanley Cup Final run.

Taken in the second round by Boston in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Carlo spent parts of four seasons in the Western hockey League with the Tri-City Americans. In 186 career regular-season WHL games, Carlo had 12 goals and 53 assists for 65 points.

The Leafs are 19-15-7 with 45 points through 41 games of 2025-26, which ranks seventh in the Atlantic Division. William Nylander leads the team in assists and points with 14 and 27, respectively, while Auston Matthews has a team-leading 20 goals.