The Philadelphia Flyers pulled off the first deal of the offseason, landing goaltender Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Philly sent two RFAs, Samuel Ersson and Emil Andrae, along with a 2026 third-round pick to Toronto.
Overall, the trade happened more out of necessity than any real desire. The Flyers clearly needed a reliable backup goalie, while size on the backend was also a must.
That’s what Daniel Briere achieved. He got an apparent upgrade over Ersson, while transforming Andrae into a much bulkier and more physical blueliner.
The deal, however, does not come without risk. Woll was once considered the Maple Leafs' future starter. He was given every chance to excel, but just couldn’t stay healthy enough to run with the starting role. This past season, Woll took an undisclosed personal leave of absence to start the season. He returned to play fantastically well, but then hit the shelf again mid-season.
In fact, it seemed like Woll and Anthony Stolarz took turns on the shelf. When one goalie was healthy, the other hit the shelf, and so on.
While there’s no question that Woll will be the backup to Dan Vladar, questions will always linger about Woll’s reliability. He showed in Toronto that he can’t be counted on to make 10 or 12 straight starts in an emergency. So, if Vladar should ever go down for an extended period, Flyers fans will have to hold their breath.
Then, there’s the question of Woll’s $3.6 million cap hit for the next two seasons. Yes, the Flyers can afford it now. But the idea of paying that much for a backup goalie is questionable. Unfortunately, there aren’t many options the Flyers can look into. Philly is a playoff club, and can’t afford to take any chances on an unproven goalie.
That’s the thing about Woll. When healthy, he’s good. If the reduced workload in Philly helps keep him on the ice, the deal might not be so bad after all.
Flyers add size with Benoit and not much else
As for Benoit, the Flyers get size and physicality, but little or anything else. The 27-year-old is a massive upgrade in terms of brawn over Andrae. But it’s Benoit’s overall slow foot speed and lack of puck-moving skills that would relegate him to the third-pairing.
Benoit gradually lost his starting role on the struggling Maple Leafs blue line last season, as he was unable to keep up with the flow. Injuries kept him on the ice most nights, but he just couldn’t regain the form that once made him a shutdown defenseman.
Perhaps under the tutelage of Rick Tocchet, Benoit could regain a place as a grinding defensive blueliner. That’s another calculated risk the Flyers will be taking.
The hope here would be that both Ersson and Andrae don’t somehow turn into stars in Toronto. If they do, this deal could age very badly. While the writing was on the wall for both, the fact remains that this could be one of the riskier deals we’ll see this offseason.
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