Joseph Woll, the goaltender who worked his way from a third-round pick to a full-time NHL role with the Toronto Maple Leafs, was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. This happened on June 16 as part of a five-player deal. 

In return, Toronto ended up getting goaltender Samuel Ersson, defenseman Emil Andrae, and a 2026 third-round pick. 

In Woll's journey with Toronto, He pushed his way into the NHL as a third-round pick. And across 25 games during the 2023-24 season, he held a 12-11-1 record.

That performance led to him signing a three-year, $11 million extension and putting him behind starter Anthony Stolarz. The first season of this deal ended with Woll finishing with 27-14-1 in about 42 games.

He took on the starter's role during the playoffs in that season, even though the Florida Panthers eliminated the Maple Leafs in seven games. Woll finished the postseason with an .886 SV%. 

The 2025-26 campaign set him back with injuries. Woll closed the season with 15-16-7. Toronto had more goalies than it required, so trading away Joseph Woll did not affect them very much.

With Woll’s departure, Toronto will turn to Anthony Stolarz and Dennis Hildeby as the forward-looking tandem expected to share the crease.

According to analytical insights from The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, the motivation behind the transaction satisfies very specific long-term goals for both front offices.

“From a Leafs’ perspective, this was about maximizing roster flexibility, generating immediate cap space, and capitalizing on their internal belief in Emil Andrae as a high-upside, young defenseman," LeBrun explained.

"Conversely, the Flyers feel they’ve substantially upgraded their baseline in goal and are thrilled to establish a high-potential tandem anchored by Woll."

Woll still held a $3.66 million cap hit in the two remaining seasons. And, this deal removes about $4.9 million from Toronto. Under the new GM John Chayka, Andrae is technically an immediate upgrade.

He made two goals and scored 13 points across 61 games for Philadelphia last season. This was all while holding a rating of +15.

Ersson holds an expiring deal, and the front office is unlikely to retain him because they do not prioritize their net right now.

How Toronto's Season Led to Major Changes

The trade happened right after a difficult 2025-26 season for the Maple Leafs. Toronto missed this postseason entirely, and management fired head coach Craig Berube right after the team's performance.

This was the first time since 2016 that the Maple Leafs failed to move forward to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They finished with 32-36-14  and were eliminated from the competition after losing 4-1 to the San Jose Sharks. 

As they head into the offseason, trading Joseph Woll away freed them nearly $5 million in cap space that Chayka can use towards the other parts of the roster needs.

However, Toronto still has the first overall pick at the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft on June 26 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. 

There have been speculations that Penn State forward Gavin McKenna is one of the top prospects in the draft. Chakya, too, has confirmed that they’ve been working on a wide range of coaching searches.

Moreover, as per them, they’ve also reached out to almost 55 candidates. 

Toronto can use this offseason to work on its roster to make a stronger comeback in the playoffs in 2026-27.

Read more at NHL Fan Central!

Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Koushik Biswas