John Chayka has made the first trade of his tenure as Toronto Maple Leafs general manager in a multi-player deal with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Stanley Cup Finals are officially over, and teams are expected to ramp up trade negotiations with the NHL Draft just 10 days away, and the Toronto Maple Leafs have begun to make moves under Chayka.
In a move that has surprised many, Chayka hasn’t made a subtle minor-league deal to begin his tenure in charge but has instead made a deal involving four players and a draft pick with the Flyers, which has received mixed reactions right out of the gate.
The deal
The first trade for Chayka saw the Toronto Maple Leafs swap a goaltender and a defenceman for a different goaltender and defenceman.
Heading to Philadelphia are 27-year-old goaltender Joseph Woll and 27-year-old defenceman Simon Benoit. Woll was a third-round (62nd overall) pick by the Leafs in the 2016 Draft, while Benoit joined the team as a free agent in the summer of 2023.
In return, the Leafs have received 26-year-old goaltender Samuel Ersson and 24-year-old defenceman Emil Andrae, both of whom are impending restricted free agents this summer.
Ersson was a fifth-round (143rd overall) pick by the Flyers in the 2018 Draft, with Andrae being selected by the team in the second round (54th overall) in the 2020 Draft.
Along with the two players from the Flyers, the Leafs have also acquired a third-round pick in the 2026 Draft, increasing the team’s capital and ability to restock the prospect pool this off-season.
What the Leafs get in Ersson and Andrae
It’s clear that Chayka wants the team to move away from the Brad Treliving/Craig Berube efforts of making the Leafs more of a physical team and focus more on skill and the ability to move the puck around the ice.
Emil Andrae is a Swedish blueliner who fits the mould of a puck mover and has positive underlying numbers both in his own end and in zone entries and exits.
He has started to become more of a regular in the NHL, playing middle-pairing minutes for the Flyers this past season and earning two goals and 11 assists in 61 regular-season games, adding an assist in four playoff games this year.
He’s on the smaller end, at 5-foot-9, 189lbs, but he isn’t afraid to throw his body around, with 119 hits and 114 shots blocked so far in his career. He could fit in nicely for a Leafs team looking to play with more flair once again and could develop into a solid two-way player in Toronto.
Samuel Ersson, meanwhile, will likely be given the opportunity to compete in camp after making 143 appearances in the NHL over the past four seasons.
He has never been above .900 in save percentage (career average .884) since entering the league, has a career record of 65–50–17, and projects to be a backup at best for the Leafs.
With Hildeby and Akhtyamov looking solid and capable of stepping up into a starting role in the next couple of seasons, the new addition may find himself the odd man out and could either be packaged in another deal, sent down to the Marlies, or, less likely, simply allowed to walk this summer without a qualifying offer.
Of the two, it seems that Andrae is more likely to stick around with the NHL team.
What it means for the Leafs
First and foremost, this trade gives the Toronto Maple Leafs flexibility this summer.
Trading Woll and Benoit to the Flyers has seen $5,016,667 come off the books immediately, with Woll earning $3,666,667 for another two seasons and Benoit earning $1.35 million with just one more year left on his deal.
This puts the Leafs in an extremely healthy position, with $27,295,951 of cap space to play with as Chayka looks to strengthen the team and get things back on track immediately.
It’s also partially addressed a couple of key areas for the Leafs, namely how the goaltender group is likely to be comprised, as well as the need to target more puck-moving defencemen.
Woll and Stolarz were a partnership that needed to be split up, with Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov both looking like they are ready to compete for NHL minutes.
Hildeby was the Leafs’ statistically best goaltender last season, while Akhtyamov is playing lights out in the Toronto Marlies’ run to the Calder Cup Finals, which they currently lead 3–0 over the Chicago Wolves.
Offloading Woll frees up at least one space, potentially two if the Leafs opt to carry three goaltenders next season, with Stolarz needing his load lightened in order to avoid another lengthy injury and to get the best out of him.
Competition for playing time will also breed competitiveness and could benefit the Leafs in the long-run, especially as the need to win now is becoming ever more apparent with Auston Matthews’ deal up in just two years.
A question I have is will the Leafs look for a more dependable starting goalie who doesn’t get injured much or start slipping when playing more games OR will they go with Stolarz and Hildeby to start? I’d suggest a real starter is the answer instead of trying to force a tandem of 2 backups! Akhtyamov is not a solid NHL goalie, he’s only played 3 games! Yet another short player would be a concern but Andrae is 194 lbs so he’s very solid! Treliving got the bright idea to get bigger in size but he didn’t realize they needed more toughness, not just size on paper! Carlo did nothing on the Matthews dirty knee and has been playing like he’s 5’9″ and 160lbs!