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The Toronto Maple Leafs hit a homer with the return they got from the Philadelphia Flyers for Joseph Woll.

The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off the first trade of the John Chayka era. The club ended speculation about Joseph Woll’s future with the club by sending him to the Philadelphia Flyers along with Simon Benoit.

The move was evidently a cap dump, but it was also a way of addressing other areas of need, drawing from a position of strength. In essence, the Leafs had a surplus of NHL-caliber goalies, with Woll really being the easiest to move.

It’s also worth pointing out that this move had been in the cards for a while. Rumors had circulated for a while about Woll being a Flyers trade target.

That said, what should be surprising is the return the Leafs got for Woll and Benoit. Getting RFA defenseman Emil Andrae and goalie Samuel Ersson was a decent haul. The 2026 third-rounder was just a nice little extra on top of everything. And it really is surprising that the Flyers threw in that extra pick. Given the pieces heading to Philly, it really wasn’t necessary.

That’s why this deal is ultimately a fleecing by Chayka and the Maple Leafs.

The Leafs got a 24-year-old defenseman with a decent upside. Andrae was a second-round pick of the Flyers in the 2020 NHL Draft. While he isn’t projected to be a top-pairing blueliner, he’s the sort of puck-moving blueliner the Maple Leafs need. Plus, the organization doesn’t have any young, up-and-coming rearguards.

As for Ersson, he just never found his footing in Philadelphia. Part of the problem was the Flyers rushing Ersson to the NHL when they did. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t stick as the starting netminder. Hence, the writing was on the wall for the 26-year-old.

Andrae Is an Upgrade over Benoit

The Flyers likely wanted Benoit as they targeted more size and physicality on their blueline. Beyond Rasmus Ristolainen, the Flyers don’t really have a hard-hitting blueliner. That’s what Benoit brings, even if he adds little of anything else.

The other attractive trait Benoit brings to the equation is his $1.35 million cap hit. The Flyers would have likely paid that much, or even more, in re-signing Andrae.

But what the Maple Leafs get is a solid puck-moving defenseman with power-play potential. Even at 5’9”, Andrae is nearly 200 pounds and can take care of himself. That’s why Andrae would get a shot at the middle-pairing, assuming that Morgan Rielly remains with the Leafs heading into next season.

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Ersson Will Be a Question Mark for Maple Leafs

The real question mark for the Maple Leafs is Ersson. He pretty much washed out of Philly, particularly with Dan Vladar taking over the starting role this past season. As such, it was evident that Ersson was no longer in the Flyers’ plans moving forward.

For the Maple Leafs, Ersson will likely get a shot at the backup role. Since Anthony Stolarz is now the presumptive starter, Ersson should battle with Dennis Hildeby in training camp for the backup job. The problem is that Ersson is out of options and needs to clear waivers. The same goes for Hildeby. So, if the Leafs had to choose, it would be Ersson who’d get sent down to the Marlies.

But that will be a bridge the organization will cross when the time comes. For now, the plan will be to get Ersson back on track and potentially become a solid backup moving forward.