On Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers made the first trade of the off season. The Leafs moved on from Joseph Woll, and Simon Benoit in exchange for Emil Andrae, Samuel Errson, and the 85th overall pick in this year’s draft.
Goaltender Joseph Woll is likely the biggest profile player in this deal. The 2024-25 season saw Woll play a career high 42 games and had a .909 save percentage. This past season, Woll’s season was dragged down by injuries and a lackluster Maple Leafs team in front of him. He finished the season playing 39 games and posting a .898 save percentage. Last season wasn’t the first time Woll missed significant time due to an injury. The 27-year-old is set to be paid $3.67 million for the next two seasons before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2028.
Simon Benoit made a home for himself in Toronto after signing with them prior to the 2023-24 season. In his first two seasons with the Leafs the 6”4 defenseman was a +19 and provided some nice physicality and stability in a shutdown role. Last season, Benoit struggled. He failed to register a single goal and was a –22. Last season, the Leafs had an overload of big defenders that are not the most mobile. Not having a more mobile defender to play with, some of Benoit’s main flaws were left exposed. In the right situation I still think Benoit is capable of playing bottom pair in a more defensive role. The 27-year-old has one season left on his contract, with a low cap hit of $1.35 million.
At one point Samuel Ersson looked like a solid young goalie. Unfortunately for both parties he has really stagnated in the Flyers’ system. Every season Ersson’s numbers have gone down. The 26-year-old definitely needed a change in scenery, and maybe he can be a decent backup goalie in Toronto. Ersson’s contract expires this July, and he is set to become a restricted free agent.
Emil Andrae finally established himself as a full-time NHLer for most of last season. He had pretty decent results last season as he was a +15 and really came into his own. For a Leafs team that is trying to get younger and more mobile on defense, this acquisition is not very surprising to see. I still question the long-term NHL projection because of Andrae’s lack of size. However, I also see a world where Andrae can be a solid bottom pairing defender who will definitely need to be sheltered physically.
Overall, I think the Flyers came out on top in this deal. While Dan Vladar was stellar last season, Woll can be a great fit for the Flyers tandem and is also very capable of being an NHL starter if he can just stay healthy. I also think Simon Benoit can still be an NHL defenseman. I don’t like the deal quite as much for Toronto, but I definitely understand it. The Maple Leafs’ AHL tandem was really solid last season, making the injury prone Woll expendable. I like the move to get a goalie back in the deal, while picking up a younger and more mobile defender in Andrae.