The Toronto Maple Leafs traded goaltender Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers for goalie Samuel Ersson, defender Emil Andrae, and a 2026 third-round draft pick, the teams announced Tuesday.
The move is the first significant trade by new Toronto general manager John Chayka.
Woll is under contract through 2028 at a $3.36-million cap hit. The 27-year-old is coming off his worst NHL season after posting an .898 save percentage and 3.34 goals-against average in 39 appearances. He'll share the crease in Philadelphia with Dan Vladar, who helped the Flyers qualify for the playoffs this spring with a 29-14-7 record. He's reportedly nearing a multi-year extension.
Benoit is signed for 2026-27 at a cost of $1.35 million. The depth blue-liner is known for his physical presence rather than his offensive skill or puck-moving ability.
Both Ersson and Andrae are restricted free agents. Toronto has over $27.2 million in cap space to help facilitate new deals, per PuckPedia.
Ersson was a fifth-round pick of the Flyers in 2018 and has consistently struggled at the NHL level. He owns a career .884 save percentage in 143 appearances and has never posted a clip better than .900 over a full season since breaking into the league in 2022-23.
The 26-year-old may be a candidate to back up Anthony Stolarz next season, but Toronto also has AHLers Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov in its goalie pipeline.
Andrae was a second-round selection in 2020. A 5-foot-9 left shot, he registered 13 points in 61 games this past season - both career highs - and led all Flyers defensemen at plus-15. Andrae logged just over 15 minutes per contest in 2025-26 and also played seven AHL games.
Chayka identified reshaping Toronto's blue line as one of his top priorities after being hired in May.
