At the end of the 2009 season, McLean was traded to the Carlton Football Club in exchange for its first round selection (No. 11 overall) in the 2009 National Draft. McLean had requested to be traded, and he revealed in an interview in 2012 that his primary reason was that he did not enjoy what he saw as a losing culture at Melbourne – particularly towards the end of the 2009 season, a time when Melbourne was perceived by football journalists to have tanked in order to secure a priority draft pick.