The Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs swapped backup goaltenders and defensemen on Tuesday. The Flyers acquired 27-year-old goaltender Joseph Woll and 27-year-old defenseman Simon Benoit. In return, they sent 26-year-old goaltender Samuel Ersson and 24-year-old defenseman Emil Andrae to the Maple Leafs.
Additionally, the Flyers sent their 2026 third-round pick to Toronto in the deal.
Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said on Tuesday morning that he felt both Ersson and Andrae would benefit from a change of scenario although both players were very well-liked in the organization.
"We thought it was a chance to improve the team and take another step. Sam has been a fantastic teammate, really loved in the room. Both guys... We just felt Woll will be able to help Vladdy [Dan Vladar] in a tandem role," Briere said.
"With Emil, we were a little small on defense [with Jamie Drysdale, Cam York and Andrae] and we like Simon's size and his skating."
The Goalie Component
Both Woll and Ersson have had stretches of strong play in their NHL careers to date. Both have had some injury issues. Woll, however, has performed at an overall higher level in 117 regular season NHL games than Ersson has had in his 143 games to date.
Woll also has 14 games of Stanley Cup playoffs experience under his belt. He played especially well in his three 2024 appearances (0.86 GAA, .964 save percentage).
Ersson's best stretches in the NHL came in between Christmas 2024 to the Four Nations tournament (9-4-1, 2.26 GA, .920 SV%) and the post-Olympic stretch drive in 2025-26. Before the break, he scuffled to a 8-10-5 record, .856 save percentage, and a 3.51 goals-against average. After the break, however, he posted a 6-1-0 record, a .912 save percentage, and a 1.99 goals-against average.
Internationally, Ersson's best moment came at the Four Nations Faceoff in 2025. He turned aside 32 of 33 shots in a 2-1 win against previously undefeated Team USA. In the NHL, Ersson has been in a good groove ever since the Christmas break (9-4-1 record, 2.26 goals against average, .920 save percentage, one shutout).
The Defenseman Component
Andrae has been a power play defenseman at lower levels, captaining Team Sweden in the World Juniors and running the Lehigh Valley Phantoms point, but had not translated that prowess to the NHL level.
For the most part, Andrae has been an effective puck-moving defenseman in the NHL. But not playing either end of special teams very often, plus his lack of size (5-foot-9, 189 pounds), has worked against his push to become an every-game regular in the NHL so far.
Benoit brings the combination of size (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) and above-average skating that NHL organizations crave. He also adds a physical component. The veteran of 352 NHL regular season games and 20 playoff matches tries to keep things simple when he has the puck on his stick. He's more of a defensive defenseman than anything else.
Briere said that Benoit can step into the Flyers top-seven on the defensive depth chart but also could potentially move into the top six. Roster wise, he replaces Andrae and impending unrestricted free agent Noah Juulsen.
Benoit and Andrae are both left-shooting defensemen. Otherwise, they do not have many similarities to their game. The Flyers are also figuring out where rookie hopefuls such as David Jiricek (no longer waiver exempt) and Oliver Bonk (waiver exempt) could fit into the plan for the start of the next season.
