Here's why the Toronto Maple Leafs flipped the rights to goaltender Samuel Ersson to the Ottawa Senators just 10 days after acquiring him from the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Toronto Maple Leafs traded away the rights to goaltender Samuel Ersson to the Ottawa Senators on Friday, in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick.
Toronto acquired Ersson in the trade with the Philadelphia Flyers earlier in the month. They also received defenseman Emil Andrae and a 2026 third-round pick while sending away defenseman Simon Benoit and goaltender Joseph Woll.
Andrae was the main grab in that deal for the Leafs, and Ersson's future with Toronto was uncertain, especially considering his recent play in the NHL.
In the end, it seemed unlikely that Maple Leafs GM John Chayka was going to qualify Ersson. The Swedish goaltender is coming off the worst season of his young career, posting a .870 save percentage and a 3.12 goals-against average in 33 games last year.
With no intention of keeping the 26-year-old Ersson, Toronto recouped an asset that they had lost in a separate deal, in a sense.
When the Maple Leafs acquired Darren Raddysh from the Tampa Bay Lightning, they gave the Bolts a 2026 fifth-round pick for the rights to sign him.
Though the 2027 fifth-round pick they received from Ottawa isn't from the same draft, the value of that fifth-round pick returns to the Leafs organization and faces zero consequences with this move in the meantime.
The Maple Leafs now have three goaltenders in their main system, with Anthony Stolarz assuming the starting role, while 24-year-olds Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov are next in line for NHL jobs.
Freeing up a goaltending spot may either allow the young netminders to come through and prove themselves in the NHL, or something else could be brewing in terms of bringing in another veteran goaltender to play alongside Stolarz for the Leafs.
It's worth noting that Toronto has been linked to Sergei Bobrovsky this off-season.
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