A newly acquired Maple Leafs goalie might already be on his way out

Although the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Samuel Ersson in the Joseph Woll deal, the team hasn't exactly committed to him yet and he could be on the move again.

When the Maple Leafs shocked everyone by trading Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers it was seen as a move to open up some cap space as well as segue one of the younger guys like Dennis Hildeby into becoming a full-time starter in the NHL.

But they didn't necessarily do that as they also acquired goaltender Samuel Ersson in the deal. It was a goalie for goalie swap essentially if you boil it down to brass tacks although Ersson is younger and cheaper technically as he's an RFA who needs a new contract.

He could be seen as someone who could be a great deterrent to any Hildeby struggles and with Anthony Stolarz so injury prone, it's always better to have more than less.

Samuel Ersson may be leaving Toronto just as quickly as he arrived: Friedman

Though with news the team is also heading towards a potential Sergei Bobrovsky signing - Ersson may not have a spot.

That's exactly the feeling that Elliotte Friedman has regarding the 26-year old goalie, and on Monday's episode of 32 Thoughts explained that he does not feel like Ersson is going to be part of the Maple Leafs' plans going forward:

I think they are looking in goal. Binnington, Hellebuyck, Bobrovsky; remember Stolarz won a Cup backing up Bobrovsky and Steven Lorentz was Bobrovsky's shooter, there's a lot of trust and loyalty and Toronto very well could go that way.

[On Ersson's role] I'm not convinced they keep him.

Ersson's need of a new contract does complicate things a bit, and with three goalies already and potentially a superstar netminder on the horizon, they need to focus their money on that instead of Ersson.

Nothing against the Swedish goalie though, and he's had very similar numbers to Woll throughout his career. He holds a 65-50-17 record with a 3.01 GAA and .884 SV% which while not incredible on the outside has a lot to do with his lack of defensive help.

A crowded crease means Samuel Ersson could be one of the next moves John Chayka makes

But if Toronto does indeed decide to go with someone like Bobrovsky in free agency or perhaps trade for a goalie like Connor Hellebuyck then Ersson is likely one of the next names out, but he could bring back something of value.

He's young, won't be expensive for teams to extend and is just entering his prime. He's great as a backup and could be a solid split-starter with an older goaltender. A team like New Jersey could use him given they have Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen; both of whom are 35+ years old.

They may not get something crazy back for him, but a mid-tier pick or prospect would be a nice get.

Or they could perhaps look to package Ersson and a second-round pick to the Flames for Connor Zary. He's been reportedly shopped around and he would make a perfect middle-six forward that won't cost that much in terms of acquiring nor contract.

It's less about wanting to dump Ersson because he's bad, but more focusing on winning now and with goaltender pipeline that is ready to make that leap in the next year or two; building up another goalie who is a little older is a bit redundant.

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