Leafs general manager John Chayka held a Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday afternoon.
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John Chayka made his first trade as Maple Leafs general manager on Tuesday, sending defenceman Simon Benoit and goalie Joseph Woll to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Emil Andrae, goalie Samuel Ersson and a third-round pick in this year’s draft.
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.
“He’s a smart, competitive player who helps us break the puck out more efficiently,” Chayka said. “He’s 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.”
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’s blue line.
“We loved his competitive edge inside, but it did make our defence a little small at times,” Flyers general manager Daniel Briere told reporters in Philadelphia. “We have Jamie [Drysdale] and [Cam York] there, so the three of them wasn’t ideal. It will probably be a little easier for the coaches having a guy like [6-foot-4] Simon Benoit back there to use.”
Benoit, 27, led the Leafs blue line in hits, but chipped in just six assists in 73 games.
Andrae, Philadelphia’s second-round pick in 2020, logged 15:20 of ice time per game last season and led the Flyers defence at plus-15.
“Andrae is a player I’ve watched for a number of years now,” Chayka said. “Our staff felt good about him on our roster.”
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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.
“We felt Woll is a step forward for us and will be able to help [Dan Vladar] in a tandem role,” Briere said.
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.
A crowded crease in Toronto made Woll, who is one year into a three-year deal, expendable. Anthony Stolarz is about to start a new four-year deal and a pair of 24-year-old prospects, Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov, are pushing for more playing time.
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.
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.
“In any good situation where you have organizational depth, you want the young players to force your hand a bit,” Chayka said. “Certainly, 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.”
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Ersson is coming off a tough season, which saw him post an .870 save percentage in 33 games with the Flyers.
“We just felt in Sam’s case, it’s 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,” Briere said.
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.
“He is a good young goaltender,” Chayka said. “He 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.”
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Tuesday’s trade sets the table for more moves as the new management group gets to work on remaking the roster.
“What we like about this opportunity is that it allows us to create some flexibility,” Chayka said. “Flexibility 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.”
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.
“Certainly, cap space is a real asset,” Chayka said. “We added some draft capital as well, as we look to replenish. It checked a lot of boxes.”
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The Leafs coaching search is almost complete.
“I think we are in the final phases at this stage,” Chayka revealed. “It 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.”
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.
Toronto has been without a head coach since firing Craig Breube on May 13.
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The Leafs signed 18-year-old forward Tinus Luc Koblar to a three-year entry-level contract on Monday.
“The development staff did a very good job working with him and rounding out his game,” Chayka said. “He 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.”
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.
“These are the types of picks that are super helpful as you are building out an organization,” Chayka said. “The 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.”
Koblar, who plays in the Swedish Hockey League, is scheduled to take part in the team’s development camp later this month.
“Development is never linear,” Chayka said. “I 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’s an exciting prospect for us.”
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Toronto Marlies lines in Game 3 of the Calder Cup Finals:
Groulx - Shaw - Lettieri
Cowan - Quillan - Tverberg
Pare - Haymes - Nylander
Sim - Johnstone - Pezzetta
Thrun - Benning
Mermis - Villeneuve
Rifai - Danford
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
