Renaud Lavoie: Maple Leafs trade Woll, Benoit for Ersson, Andrae, pick
Renaud lavoie reports the Maple Leafs moved Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to the Flyers on Tuesday, bringing back Samuel Ersson, Emil Andrae and a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. The swap changes Toronto’s goaltending picture and gives the club more than $5 million in salary-cap space.
John Chayka called it “une transaction qui coche plusieurs cases de notre plan,” and the deal fits the direction Toronto has been working on for weeks. The Leafs added a younger defenseman, a pick and financial room while sending out a goalie and a defenseman who were part of the club’s current depth chart.
Toronto’s cap room
Chayka said the flexibility was central to the move: “On travaille fort sur un plan qui fait du sens depuis quelques semaines. Ce que nous aimons de cette transaction, c’est la flexibilité que ça nous appporte. Ça fait partie de notre plan. Un jeune défenseur, de l’espace sous le plafond salarial et un choix de repêchage, ça coche plusieurs cases de notre plan.”
Woll, 27, finished last season with a 15-16-7 record, a.899 save percentage and a 3.31 goals-against average. He is under contract through the end of the 2027-2028 season at a $3.67 million average annual salary, so Toronto did not just move a goalie; it moved a long-term contract attached to one of its most visible roster decisions.
Flyers add Woll and Andrae
Daniel Brière said Woll upgrades the Flyers’ goaltending group, saying, “Nous avons estimé que Woll nous améliore et qu’il serait en mesure d’épauler Vladdy au sein de notre duo de gardiens.” Philadelphia is clearly betting on that fit with Dan Vladar, while also adding Benoit to its blue line mix.
The Flyers also get a defenseman who has already shown he can play a regular role. Andrae, 24, had two goals and 13 points in 61 games this season and added one assist in four playoff games. Philadelphia drafted him in the second round, 54th overall, in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Andrae, Benoit and the trade-off
Brière made the case for Andrae in direct terms: “Andrae est un joueur que je regarde depuis longtemps. Notre personnel pense que c’est un bon ajout à notre effectif. C’est un joueur intelligent et compétitif. Il va nous aider en sortie de zone efficacement et il est capable de contribuer offensivement. On obtient un jeune défenseur et je crois qu’on avait besoin de jeunesse à cette position.”
He also explained why Andrae was the player who moved out, saying, “Emil, on adorait son esprit de compétition, mais cela rendait parfois notre défense un peu petite, avec [Cam York] et [Jamie] Drysdale. Avoir les trois, ce n’était donc pas l’idéal.” Toronto gets that younger defenseman back in the form of Ersson, 26, who went 14-11-5 with a.870 save percentage and a 3.12 goals-against average last season, but he and Andrae both need new contracts before the deal is complete on paper.
For the Leafs, the trade turns one congested area into cap space and futures. For the Flyers, it replaces a young defenseman and a pick with Woll’s longer contract horizon and Benoit’s experience, which makes this more than a simple one-for-one swap and leaves both teams with immediate roster work to finish.
