The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded goaltender Joseph Woll and defenceman Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Emil Andrae, goaltender Samuel Ersson, and a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

The move comes following the emergence of goaltending prospect Artur Akhtyamov in the AHL, along with Dennis Hildeby’s strong performance at the NHL level in 2025-26. The goaltending situation had become a position of wealth for them to deal from, and it seemed likelier than not that the Leafs would be moving on from one of Anthony Stolarz or Joseph Woll to thin out their crease. It was unknown how general manager John Chayka would view Woll compared to Stolarz, and now we have that answer.

Andrae is a 24-year-old defenceman who just completed his first full NHL season with the Flyers, registering 13 points in 61 games. The Swedish blueliner was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft and can slide into a puck-moving role on the Maple Leafs’ bottom pair. He’s certainly on the undersized side of things, standing at 5-foot-9 and 189 pounds, but his competitiveness outweighs his height.

Ersson, on the other hand, seems more likely to be a waivers candidate in training camp, unless they plan to promote him in lieu of Hildeby. Ersson, 26, has been one of the Flyers’ tandem goalies for three years now and has struggled for the most part. He hasn’t managed a save percentage above .900 in those three years, posting a record of 14-11-5 with a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.12 and a save percentage (SV%) of .870 in 2025-26. Again, Hildeby’s numbers were immeasurably better in the NHL, so it’s hard to envision Ersson being a legitimate part of this deal.

Woll, 27, was drafted in the third-round of the 2016 NHL Draft and has been a decent goaltender for them at the NHL level. He had a down-year with the rest of the team in 2025-26, finishing with a record of 15-16-7, a GAA of 3.31 and a SV% of .899. He’s certainly capable of much better than that, but his durability has also proven to be an issue for the Maple Leafs, never appearing in more than 42 games in a season.

Benoit was signed by the Maple Leafs ahead of the 2023-24 season and extended following that year. He finished the 2025-26 season with six assists in 73 games.