The Toronto Maple Leafs didn't make any big blockbuster move during the offseason, but new general manager John Chayka made dozens of little transactions to improve the team. One of the more under-the-radar acquisitions was acquiring young defenseman Emil Andrae as part of a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, and he's excited to land on a new team.
Andrae just turned 24 years old last season but remained on the outside of the top four for the Flyers and was never really given a long opportunity to prove himself further. Now, he will arrive in Toronto with possibly more chances to flourish on both sides of the puck and he can't wait to get started.
Emil Andrae looking for second chance with the Leafs
During the Leafs annual preseason golf tournament, Andrae spoke with the media and was asked if he felt a trade was coming.
“I had a little bit of a feeling maybe,” Andrae said. “There’s a lot of young guys coming up there, a lot of prospects that they need to get into the team, into the league. For me, it was a great thing to get moved, too. I love the guys there and I love the place, love playing in that city, but I think a fresh start for me now is going to be perfect, and yeah, I couldn’t be more excited to be here.”
The Flyers have other young defensemen like Cam York and Jamie Drysdale on their current roster that kept Andrae down the depth chart as similar, undersized puckmoving defensemen. Add in the fact that other prospects like Oliver Bonk were coming up and putting pressure on the blue line, and the writing was on the wall.
But now, Andrae will have an opportunity with the Leafs to quickly rise up the depth chart since they have the opposite problem compared to the Flyers. Too many Toronto blueliners are big, rugged, and physical players who can't move the puck all that well. In comes Andrae, who could provide a nice little jolt of youth to this blue line and something could be cooking here.
We really hope that it will also be a "perfect" fit for the 24-year-old blueliner. We share the same excitement.
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