Maple Leafs – Toronto moved Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to Philadelphia on Tuesday, receiving Samuel Ersson and Emil Andrae in return. The deal reshapes a Toronto goalie log jam that includes Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll, Dennis Hildeby, and Artur Akhtyamov—while also putt
The timing hit hardest when it became clear Toronto wasn’t just swapping names on a roster—it was trying to untangle a goalie log jam before the next season starts.
On Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs traded Joseph Woll to Philadelphia along with defenceman Simon Benoit. In return, Toronto received 26-year-old goalie Samuel Ersson and 24-year-old defenceman Emil Andrae.
The move mattered because Woll hadn’t been the problem on paper—he’d been part of a tandem that combined for the league’s best save percentage in 2024-25—yet availability had been the issue. Toronto also had Joseph Woll under contract along with Anthony Stolarz. two goalies whose combined cap hit sat at $7.41 million through at least the 2027-28 season. with Woll set to expire after his contract runs its course.
But the Maple Leafs’ offseason headache wasn’t just who they had. It was who they risked losing.
Dennis Hildeby stepped up from the AHL into 20 NHL games this past season and ended up as Toronto’s best netminder statistically. posting a .914 save percentage and a 2.80 goals-against average. He was the only one of the three with a positive Goals Saved Above Expected. The trouble is that next season, Hildeby would lose his waiver exemption status. That meant if Toronto sent him back to the AHL after training camp. every other team would have a chance to claim him first.
So the trade effectively redirected attention toward the question Toronto still has to solve: what happens to the next goalie who becomes exposed.
Toronto didn’t just move Woll. It also pulled Samuel Ersson into the picture—an RFA who is arbitration-eligible and will need a new contract before next season. Ersson’s situation is complicated by his numbers not reading like an obvious improvement over Toronto’s goalies from last season. His save percentage has declined over three years, down to .870 this season. Among the 66 NHL netminders who played at least 20 games last season, Ersson’s -16.5 GSAE ranked 62nd.
The Maple Leafs now face a straightforward set of competing possibilities. Is Ersson a project they believe they can resurrect? Will he be the one put through waivers next season? Or will Toronto leave him unqualified as an RFA—making him a UFA when the market opens July 1?
Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka didn’t close any of those doors after the trade. In his post-trade press conference. he said. “We’re going to make some decisions on what that looks like.” He added. “He’s a good young goaltender. he’s someone we identified as having some upside and someone our staff could work with. So we’ll get together with (goaltending coach Curtis McElhinney) and make that decision.”.
Chayka’s uncertainty may be the most honest part of Toronto’s situation. Woll’s contract is set to expire after at least the span of the $7.41 million cap hit shared with Stolarz, and Toronto’s internal depth chart already included more than one credible path to an NHL job.
For example. Artur Akhtyamov—Toronto Marlies starting goaltender. currently in the Calder Cup Final—was signed through the 2028-29 season and positioned to challenge for an NHL job. Akhtyamov has one more year of waiver exemption left on his deal, giving Toronto more strategic flexibility than Hildeby. Meanwhile, Stolarz is about to enter into Year 1 of his four-year extension.
Ersson’s contract details add another layer. His qualifying offer is set at $1.6 million. which is described in the analysis as “too rich” by the writer. but also framed as something that could work in Toronto’s favour. The other big factor is age: Ersson is 26. and if Toronto qualifies him. it could be more likely they slip him through waivers at training camp despite exposing him to the rest of the league. Still, the argument is that Ersson doesn’t have the same value as Hildeby.
Toronto’s goalie room isn’t the only place the trade creates a decision point. The more immediate spotlight inside the deal may be Emil Andrae.
Andrae is a small, five-foot-nine, 189-pound defenceman with a puck-moving profile. He played sheltered minutes on Philadelphia’s bottom pair for 61 regular-season games in 2025-26. earning a high percentage of offensive zone starts. but produced 13 points. That blend—relatively limited production. strong usage profile. and the kind of transitional play Toronto has been craving—fits the idea that Andrae could be the project in this transaction rather than the headline goalie swap.
It’s also why the trade drew attention when the NHL playoffs came around. Andrae battled through an upper-body injury and was limited to only four playoff games. yet he still logged even-strength shifts and remained part of the lineup flow during Philadelphia’s spring. His ice time wasn’t consistent night to night—some games he was deployed as little as seven minutes. while other games he logged over 20.
From the numbers, Andrae’s NHL production for Philadelphia this season was 13 points: two goals and 11 assists in 61 games. He isn’t a high-volume shooter, directing 38 shots on goal, but he delivered 68 hits and blocked 58 shots. Those figures are described as noteworthy precisely because he was a bottom-pairing defenceman and is likely to compete for a similar role in Toronto.
His playoff presence. limited by injury. is also part of the trade story: the Maple Leafs will be watching not just what he can do when healthy. but whether he can bring more stability to tracking and moving pucks from their zone—an area described as a glaring weakness last season. tied to Toronto’s lack of ability to track pucks down in its zone and launch the counter-attack quickly.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, has its own reason to believe this trade could make sense.
With rumours rampant that Dan Vladar will soon sign a multi-year extension. Woll lands in a clear role picture: the expectation is that Woll becomes Philadelphia’s backup or 1B option. There’s also a tone of timing in that conversation—Steve Valiquette. former NHL goalie and CEO of Clear Sight Analytics. said on Real Kyper and Bourne. “I always thought the Leafs would rehabilitate (Woll) up enough where they’d get more value.” He added his only critique: “My only critique of this trade is maybe a little bit too soon. But I suppose the World Championships and his performance there really had the Leafs worried.”.
Toronto also didn’t make the deal in a vacuum. The trade included a third-round pick—giving the Maple Leafs draft capital with the potential to shape their rebuild later. The analysis notes that the Maple Leafs shaved just over $5 million off their salary cap before signing either newly acquired player.
The Maple Leafs now own four picks in the first 85 slots at this year’s draft. and the organization is described as having been aggressive in recent years by trading away draft capital while chasing playoff success. In that context. the third-round pick is framed as a move that could tilt the trade in Toronto’s favour over the long run.
The immediate picture is still full of risk. Toronto’s goalie depth chart hasn’t been “solved” so much as rearranged, with every outcome tied to health, waiver logistics, and whether Ersson or another internal option ends up exposed.
The part that feels more tangible right now is the direction Toronto is trying to take defensively: adding Andrae’s puck-moving profile as a stabilizer for how they play from their end. In a deal this complicated. that’s the one thread that looks like it can hold—long after the waiver math is forgotten.
Toronto Maple Leafs Joseph Woll Samuel Ersson Emil Andrae Simon Benoit Dennis Hildeby Anthony Stolarz Artur Akhtyamov trade NHL Philadelphia Flyers Dan Vladar NHL playoffs waiver exemption