As soon as it seems the injury bug has shied away from the Maple Leafs, it has seemed to get worse, as Brandon Carlo is the latest player to join the Maple Leafs injury list. During the Maple Leafs 2-1 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday, Carlo tweaked something, according to Chris Johnson of The Athletic.
The hits keep coming to the #leafs blue line: Not only did Oliver Ekman-Larsson leave last night's game with a lower-body issue that is expected to cause him to miss some time, but there's concern Brandon Carlo tweaked something as well.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 22, 2026
No timeline on Carlo
The cause of the injury has yet to be confirmed, and there is no initial timeline on when we could see Carlo return to the Leafs' lineup. Until Craig Berube provides an update, many believe Carlo will be labelled as day-to-day. Carlo has dealt with injuries for the majority of the season, missing a long period of time after undergoing foot surgery back in December. Carlo's injury troubles this season began back in November.
Massive hole on the Leafs' blue line
Carlo has played a massive role in the Leafs' defence core as Chris Tanev has been out of the lineup for the majority of the season. This most recent injury development has left a massive hole in the Leafs' blueline. Carlo has been used as the Maple Leafs' shutdown defenceman, playing heavy minutes against other teams' best players. Carlo has also played well and has been effective on the Leafs' penalty kill, which has been very good as of late. Carlo was also tasked with trying to help find Morgan Rielly's game. Adding Carlo alongside Rielly gives him more defensive help and a chance to play a more offensive brand of hockey.
If Carlo is required to miss time, we could see Dakota Mermis rejoin the Maple Leafs lineup along with Philippe Myers. This will make Leafs fans and management uneasy, as Myers has had a rocky season with the Leafs, while Mermis has not been in the lineup since his injury back in December versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Maple Leafs will continue their five-game homestand on Friday night when Mitch Marner returns to Toronto for the first time since leaving the organization this past summer. The Leafs will head into one of the most important stretches of the season without Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Brandon Carlo.