We officially have our first trade of the NHL offseason.
It was announced on Tuesday that the Toronto Maple Leafs have traded Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Emil Andrae, Samuel Ersson, and a 2026 third-round pick.
TSN insider Darren Dreger has since reported that teams had been circling Woll in recent days and that it is somewhat surprising how quickly a deal came together.
“Yesterday, I was told teams are doing their due diligence on Woll and Knies. The fact the Woll trade materialized so quickly is a bit of a surprise to some. Philadelphia emerged as best option for Woll in the last few days,”
The 27-year-old Woll has two years remaining on the three-year, $11 million contract extension he signed with the Maple Leafs in 2024, while Benoit, 27, has one year left on the three-year, $4.05 million extension he also signed in Toronto in 2024.
On the flip side, Andrae, 24, is an RFA having just played out the third and final season of the three-year, $2.71 million contract extension he signed with the Flyers in 2023, while Ersson, 26, is also an RFA after finishing out his two-year, $2.9 million extension with Philadelphia signed in 2023.
The move clears just over $5 million in cap space, though that could change if the Maple Leafs do wind up signing either Ersson or Andrae to new contracts.
It’s a return that feels rather light for Toronto, though Andrae does have some upside as a solid bottom-pairing puck-moving defenseman. For the Flyers, they will now form a tandem of Woll and Dan Vladar, which could stack up as one of the better goaltending duos in hockey. Not to mention the addition of a rugged depth defenseman in Benoit who plays a Philadelphia-style game.
New GM John Chayka didn’t take long to dip into the trade market, and it will be interesting to see what comes next, as this likely won’t be the last of his moves this offseason.
