The Philadelphia Flyers have begun building their 2026-27 roster. On Tuesday, they agreed to a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs that netted them goalie Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit. They will send the Leafs goalie Samuel Ersson, defenseman Emil Andrae, and a 2026 third-round pick. This is a deal that should make Flyers fans happy. It will make the Flyers a much harder team to play against next season. But what role will Woll and Benoit have next season?
Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit are good fits for the Flyers
The prize piece of this trade for the Flyers is Woll. Last season was one that Woll would like to forget, posting a .898 save percentage and a 3.34 goals against average in 39 games. While these numbers do not look good, they are held back by Woll struggling during the last few months of the season. In the previous two seasons, Woll posted a save percentage over .900 and averaged less than three goals allowed per game.
He will become part of a goalie tandem with Dan Vladar. This will improve Woll’s game tremendously. His breakout season came in 2023-24 when he was in a tandem with IIya Samsonov. One of Woll's biggest problems was being overworked. Playing with Vladar will prevent this. He is also a clear upgrade over Errson, who has struggled throughout his career. He has never had a save percentage above .900 in his four years in the NHL.
Benoit will also help give the Flyers a more physical edge. While Andrae has shown some promise over the 107 games he played in the NHL, he was not a good fit for the Flyers' roster. He is seen as an offensive defenseman, something that just does not fit a third-pairing defensman role. Sure, he has shown flashes of being able to lay out big hits, but he is undersized. There is no guarantee that he will be able to maintain this level of physicality throughout his career.
This is something they do not have to worry about with Benoit. He has a hulking frame of 6'4" and 210 pounds. He has also shown he is not afraid to use it. He has registered over 200 hits in three of his six NHL seasons. This past season, he logged 194 hits, which would have been second on the Flyers. He is someone the Flyers can put on their third-pairing alongside Nick Seeler and create one of the grittiest pairings in the league.
While the Flyers still have some work to do, this move is a great start. It is a move that will make the Flyers goalie and defensive core much better.
