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.
The Leafs traded Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to the Flyers for Samuel Ersson, Emil Andrae and a 2026 third-round draft pick. What do you think of this move? 😳 pic.twitter.com/Sagy2aQ5EV
— theScore (@theScore) June 16, 2026
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.
