Toronto sent Minten, plus a first and fourth-round pick, to Boston in exchange for Brandon Carlo.
John Tavares and his two sons will surely miss Fraser Minten.
The 20-year-old lived with the Tavares family at the beginning of the 2023-24 season after Minten had made the Maple Leafs out of training camp. Throughout last season, Tavares mentioned how much his two boys, Jace and Axton, enjoyed having Minten around.
However, on Friday, Toronto shipped Minten (plus a first and a fourth-round pick) to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Brandon Carlo, who will help the Maple Leafs on the back-end. Although Tavares hasn’t been home, he’s spoken with his kids several times, but hasn’t brought up the news about Minten.
“Actually, I haven’t told them yet,” Tavares said on Wednesday with a grin.
“We’ll get there. I think I’m just happy to get home and to see them. And usually when I call home during the road, they’re not too interested too long. So, I’m trying to grab as much attention with them as I can. So, yeah, we’re not there yet.”
Toronto selected Minten in the second round (38th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. Since then, he’s played 19 NHL games with the Maple Leafs, registering two goals and two assists for four points.
Coming up in the organization, Minten spent a lot of time with Toronto forward Matthew Knies. Knies is two years older than Minten, but admitted on Wednesday that he was “a little upset” when he heard the news.
“Obviously, he was around here. He was a younger guy. Got to know him pretty well,” Knies said. “I’m excited for him that he has an opportunity to play. I think he’s going to have a good chance there to play in the NHL. It’s really sad to see him go.”
Minten spent most of his playing time this season with the Toronto Marlies. He centered their second line and scored six goals and seven assists in 26 games. The forward was on track to soon be a strong bottom-six forward for the Maple Leafs.
“Amazing person, first and foremost. Tremendous maturity and (it’s) part of the game, part of the business,” Tavares said.
‘He Talks Really Like A Vet On The Bench’: How Fraser Minten Is Impressing Maple Leafs Early In Young NHL Career Minten had a goal, five hits (the third-most on Toronto) and played 13:05 of ice time in the Maple Leafs’ win over Chicago.
“Obviously, a team like us that’s trying to set ourselves up for, obviously, a deep spring and to do something special and bring people in with their experience and their pedigree and the type of skill sets that they have.
“Sometimes, you lose prospects or obviously players that have tremendous potential. So, obviously, you’re going to miss them. But it’s obviously part of it (the business).”
Minten will debut with the Providence Bruins on Wednesday against the Marlies at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto.
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