Brandon Carlo is back on the ice, skating again.
The Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman participated in an early session on Saturday morning alongside fellow sidelined defenseman Dakota Mermis, roughly an hour before the club held its full morning skate ahead of their matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
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Carlo has been out of action since Nov. 13. His ailment, initially described as a maintenance issue and a lower-body injury, eventually required foot surgery on Dec. 3 after the initial treatment failed to progress as expected. Head coach Craig Berube previously provided a recovery timeline of approximately one month from the date of the procedure, placing the veteran’s return window sometime next week.
His return will provide much-needed depth to the right side of the Leafs’ defense. Meanwhile, Mermis was skating for the first time since suffering an injury from a knee-on-knee hit by Tampa Bay Lightning forward Gage Goncalves. These updates follow the successful return of defenseman Chris Tanev, who logged 17:23 of ice time during Tuesday’s 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins—his first game in nearly two months.
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If Tanev remains healthy and Carlo returns as scheduled, the Maple Leafs’ blue line will be at full health for the first time since mid-October. Before his injury, the 29-year-old Carlo recorded two assists in 18 games while averaging 20:03 of ice time, primarily skating alongside Morgan Rielly.
The club currently sits tied for 23rd overall in the NHL with a 16-15-5 record. Toronto acquired Carlo from the Boston Bruins at last year’s trade deadline in exchange for Fraser Minten and a 2026 first-round draft pick. That pick is top-five protected, meaning the Leafs will retain it should they fall to that position in the draft order.
