Leafs’ Brandon Carlo expected to return in January after undergoing surgery

The Toronto Maple Leafs shared an update on a key injured defenseman on Friday, as head coach Craig Berube told a group of reporters including The Athletic‘s Joshua Kloke that Brandon Carlo recently had surgery and is expected to be out for a month.

The surgery took place on December 3, and it was done to address a lower-body injury that has sidelined Carlo since a 4-3 overtime loss to Los Angeles on November 13.

Carlo, who had spent the entirety of his career with the Boston Bruins before being moved to their Atlantic Division rival around last season’s trade deadline, has appeared in 18 games so far this season. He’s recorded two assists and skated to a plus-2 rating while playing an average of 20:04 per game.

After the trade last year, Carlo provided some stability to the Leafs’ blue line with a plus-4 rating in 20 regular season appearances before going pointless as he struggled to the tune of a minus-4 rating in the playoffs.

In Carlo’s absence, Oliver Ekman-Larsson has teamed up with Morgan Rielly on Toronto’s top pairing, while waiver claim Troy Stecher has proven to be a crucial addition via waiver claim while playing alongside Jake McCabe. Simon Benoit and Henry Thrun currently comprise the third pairing.

Carlo is not the only Maple Leaf defenseman on injured reserve, as Chris Tanev has not played in a game since November 1 with an upper-body injury.

The Leafs are in the midst of an up-and-down start to the season that has seen numerous significant injuries to key players. With a record of 14-11-5, Toronto sits fifth place in the Atlantic Division.

The Maple Leafs have gone 5-2-3 in their past 10 contests, but they suffered a frustrating overtime loss at home against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Toronto will be back in action on home ice for a marquee showdown against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.