Simon Benoit Traded To Flyers In Deal For Woll, Ersson
Simon Benoit is heading to Philadelphia after the Flyers acquired him and goaltender Joseph Woll from Toronto in a trade that sent Samuel Ersson, Emil Andrae and a 2026 third-round pick the other way. The move gives the Flyers two NHL players with defined roles and trims Toronto’s blue-line depth in one transaction.
Benoit’s 352-game resume
Benoit arrives with 352 career NHL games and 36 points, including six goals and 30 assists. The 27-year-old defenseman, born Sept. 19, 1998, entered the league as an undrafted player and built his path through the AHL before sticking in the NHL.
He spent parts of five AHL seasons with the San Diego Gulls from 2018 to 2022, then played parts of six NHL seasons with Anaheim from 2020 to 2023 and Toronto from 2023 to 2026. He also logged two games with the Toronto Marlies in the 2023-24 season, another stop in a route that took longer than most before he became a regular.
Toronto loses a physical defender
In the 2025-26 season, Benoit posted six assists in 73 games and finished with 194 hits and 114 blocked shots. He tied for second on Toronto with 114 blocked shots, a number that shows how often he was asked to absorb pressure and close space on the back end.
His playoff line adds another layer. Benoit has appeared in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games and has two points, with one goal and one assist. He also scored an overtime-winning goal in Toronto’s first-round series against Ottawa in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the kind of single play that can change how a defenseman is remembered in one postseason.
Philadelphia’s draft board changes
The Flyers also changed their 2026 draft inventory. Philadelphia now holds four picks in that draft: a first-round pick at 21st overall, a second-round pick at 53rd overall, a sixth-round pick at 181st overall and a seventh-round pick at 213th overall.
That leaves Toronto with the added pick and two NHL pieces to sort into its roster picture, while Philadelphia adds Benoit’s size and Woll’s goaltending to a transaction built around immediate depth and a future draft asset.
