Leafs general manager John Chayka held a Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday afternoon. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
John Chayka made his first trade as Maple Leafs general manager on Tuesday, sending defenceman Simon Benoit<\/a> and goalie Joseph Woll<\/a> to the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> in exchange for defenceman Emil Andrae<\/a>, goalie Samuel Ersson<\/a> and a third-round pick in this year\u2019s draft. <\/p>\n Toronto struggled breaking out the puck last season and Andrae, who produced 13 points in 61 games with Philadelphia, is expected to help in that regard. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a smart, competitive player who helps us break the puck out more efficiently,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cHe\u2019s a good puck mover who can also join the rush and help support offence as well. We are getting a young D in an age group where we, candidly, could use more defence in that age group. It kind of satisfied a need there for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrae is 24, which makes him five years younger than any other Leafs defenceman from last season. At 5-foot-9, he also becomes the smallest defenceman on Toronto\u2019s blue line. <\/p>\n \u201cWe loved his competitive edge inside, but it did make our defence a little small at times,\u201d Flyers general manager Daniel Briere told reporters in Philadelphia. \u201cWe have Jamie [Drysdale] and [Cam York<\/a>] there, so the three of them wasn\u2019t ideal. It will probably be a little easier for the coaches having a guy like [6-foot-4] Simon Benoit<\/a> back there to use.\u201d <\/p>\n Benoit, 27, led the Leafs blue line in hits, but chipped in just six assists in 73 games. <\/p>\n Andrae, Philadelphia\u2019s second-round pick in 2020, logged 15:20 of ice time per game last season and led the Flyers defence at plus-15.<\/p>\n \u201cAndrae is a player I\u2019ve watched for a number of years now,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cOur staff felt good about him on our roster.\u201d <\/p>\n What do recent moves mean for new outlook in Toronto? Joseph Woll was primed to be the go-to goalie in Toronto, so how did he become expendable and where does that leave the Maple Leafs goalie situation moving forward? Former Leafs GM Brad Treliving put a premium on bigger defencemen. John Chayka’s first move sees a 5-foot-9 Emil Andrae brought in, and a 6-foot-4 Simon Benoit moved out. What does this say about the future of Toronto’s blue line? TSN’s Mark Masters has more. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The Leafs feel they are improving their defence, while the Flyers believe they are getting a boost between the pipes with the 27-year-old Woll. <\/p>\n \u201cWe felt Woll is a step forward for us and will be able to help [Dan Vladar<\/a>] in a tandem role,\u201d Briere said.<\/p>\n After missing the start of the season for personal reasons, Woll recorded a career-worst .899 save percentage in 39 games. His career save percentage is .906 over 116 games. Woll has never played more than 42 games in a season. <\/p>\n A crowded crease in Toronto made Woll, who is one year into a three-year deal, expendable. Anthony Stolarz<\/a> is about to start a new four-year deal and a pair of 24-year-old prospects, Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov<\/a>, are pushing for more playing time. <\/p>\n Hildeby posted an impressive .914 save percentage in 20 games with the Leafs and will require waivers to be sent to the American Hockey League next season. <\/p>\n Akhtyamov has passed Hildeby on the Toronto Marlies depth chart this spring. The Russian has a sparkling .924 save percentage in 19 playoff games in leading the Marlies to the Calder Cup Finals. <\/p>\n \u201cIn any good situation where you have organizational depth, you want the young players to force your hand a bit,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cCertainly, the way Dennis played at the NHL level, even, and AA with what he is doing on the Marlies right now, it causes you, as a manager, to take notice and make plans.\u201d<\/p>\n Gaunce: The Woll trade itself didn’t shock me, but the timing and return was surprising With the Maple Leafs dealing Joseph Woll to the Flyers in a four-player deal, TSN Hockey analyst Cameron Gaunce joins Domino’s That’s Hockey to break down the deal and what this means for Toronto’s goaltenders moving forward. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Ersson is coming off a tough season, which saw him post an .870 save percentage in 33 games with the Flyers. <\/p>\n \u201cWe just felt in Sam\u2019s case, it\u2019s one of those where it might be time for a change of scenery for him and hopefully it gives him that chance to take another step,\u201d Briere said.<\/p>\n Chayka did not commit to extending Ersson, a 26-year-old restricted free agent, a qualifying offer saying he needed to consult with Leafs director of goaltending development Curtis McElhinney. <\/p>\n \u201cHe is a good young goaltender,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cHe is someone we identified as having some upside and is someone our staff could work with. We will get together with Curtis and make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s trade sets the table for more moves as the new management group gets to work on remaking the roster. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat we like about this opportunity is that it allows us to create some flexibility,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cFlexibility and optionality are great assets to any great organization and, certainly, this allows us to be in a better spot as we think about the entire off-season plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Woll and Benoit are on the books for $3.66-million and $1.35-million next season. Andrae and Ersson are restricted free agents who made $903,333 and $1.45-million last year. <\/p>\n \u201cCertainly, cap space is a real asset,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cWe added some draft capital as well, as we look to replenish. It checked a lot of boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘Checked a lot of boxes’: Chayka happy with flexibility, young assets Woll trade gives Leafs Maple Leafs GM John Chayka details why he dealt Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to the Flyers for Emil Andrae, Samuel Ersson and a 2026 third-round pick. Chayka loves the skills and youth Andrae will bring to Toronto’s defence, and says the strong play of Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov allowed the Leafs to trade Woll. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The Leafs coaching search is almost complete. <\/p>\n \u201cI think we are in the final phases at this stage,\u201d Chayka revealed. \u201cIt has been a pretty thorough process so far. We are taking our time with it. We have had some in-person meetings recently. We are getting down to decision time. It should be in the next several days.\u201d<\/p>\n Chayka previously noted that the team spoke with around 55 different people in the first stage of the process with 20 of the conversations being more in depth. <\/p>\n Toronto has been without a head coach since firing Craig Breube on May 13. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The Leafs signed 18-year-old forward Tinus Luc Koblar to a three-year entry-level contract on Monday. <\/p>\n \u201cThe development staff did a very good job working with him and rounding out his game,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cHe is a guy who we think has a lot of upside. We are excited to get him signed as the next step in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n The Leafs selected Koblar last year with the final pick of the second round (64th overall). He performed well at the recent IIHF World Championship in helping Norway win the bronze medal. Koblar led the team in scoring with nine points in 10 games. <\/p>\n \u201cThese are the types of picks that are super helpful as you are building out an organization,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cThe team did a great job of getting him where they got him. He is a big player with size [6-foot-2, 176 pounds] who is a very smart player.\u201d<\/p>\n Koblar, who plays in the Swedish Hockey League, is scheduled to take part in the team\u2019s development camp later this month. <\/p>\n \u201cDevelopment is never linear,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cI am sure he will have some ups and downs, but to date, if you think about his year since he was drafted, he has certainly made a lot of progress. He\u2019s an exciting prospect for us.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘Wanted to prove how good I am’: Leafs prospect Koblar accelerated development during historic Norway run Tinus Luc Koblar led the way as Norway claimed its first ever World Championship medal. The 18-year-old Leafs prospect scored six goals while holding his own against NHL players, including idol Sidney Crosby. Koblar reflected on the experience and his growth this season. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Toronto Marlies lines in Game 3 of the Calder Cup Finals: <\/p>\n Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri <\/p>\n Cowan – Quillan – Tverberg<\/p>\n Pare – Haymes – Nylander<\/p>\n Sim – Johnstone – Pezzetta<\/p>\n Thrun – Benning <\/p>\n Mermis – Villeneuve<\/p>\n Rifai – Danford<\/p>\n Akhtyamov<\/p>\n Hildeby<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leafs general manager John Chayka held a Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday afternoon. — John Chayka made…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":742093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[712,266203,43,74730,44,266204,266205,41,39,42,40,74650],"class_list":["post-742092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-apple-news","tag-emil-andrae-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8482126","tag-headlines","tag-joseph-woll-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8479361","tag-news","tag-samuel-ersson-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8481035","tag-simon-benoit-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8481122","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-toronto-maple-leafs-sports-hockey-team-team-nhl-api-10"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/742093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}