The surprise deal is already looking like a steal for Philadelphia.
The first and only big transaction the Philadelphia Flyers made this past offseason was the acquisition of backup goalie Joseph Woll, who arrived via trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs at a fairly low cost.
To bring in the 28-year-old Woll, a starting-caliber goalie with some durability questions, as well as rugged defenseman Simon Benoit, the Flyers only needed to pay up in the form of struggling goalie Sam Ersson, promising but small defenseman Emil Andrae, and a 2026 third-round pick, which was used to draft Juuso Alnasto 85th overall.
But, just over three months after the June 16 trade, Woll and Benoit remain with the Flyers, while Ersson and Andrae have already been shipped off to new teams before appearing in a regular season game for the Maple Leafs.
Ersson was traded by the Maple Leafs to the Atlantic Division rival Ottawa Senators for a 2027 fifth-round pick, with the once-promising Flyers goalie signing a two-year, $4.4 million ($2.2 million AAV) contract with the Sens and supplanting Leevi Merilainen as the backup to incumbent starter Linus Ullmark.
As for Andrae, the 24-year-old defenseman signed a two-year, $3.1 million ($1.55 AAV) contract with the Maple Leafs on July 4 and at one point had been practicing alongside top-pair defenseman Morgan Rielly, but Toronto didn't hesitate to flip him in pursuit of a better opportunity for the club.
Andrae included in big Kirill Marchenko trade
Emil Andrae lasted just three months with the Toronto Maple Leafs before getting traded again. (Photo: Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images)On Monday, the Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets completed a blockbuster trade that oversaw the exchange of wingers Matthew Knies and Kirill Marchenko, with Andrae heading to Columbus as one of the auxiliary pieces in the deal.
Knies, Andrae, Steven Lorentz, and a 2027 second-round pick were exchanged for Elvis Merzlikins, Miles Wood, and Marchenko, with the latter agreeing to a six-year, $75 million extension ($12.5 million AAV) with the Maple Leafs that will kick in on July 1 of next year.
In the end, Andrae was a fairly inconsequential piece included in the trade, with the former Flyers prospect in line to take on a depth role in Columbus.
He's one of six healthy defensemen on the Blue Jackets' roster, alongside Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Erik Gudbranson, Jake Christiansen, and Denton Mateychuk.
Gudbranson is the only right-shot of the bunch, and Andrae and Christiansen figure to be the first men out of the lineup once Damon Severson (shoulder) and Dante Fabbro (hand) return from their respective injuries.
It's becoming clear already that Flyers GM Danny Briere got maximum value out of the Woll trade, adding an important understudy behind starter Dan Vladar, with the goalie depth tested once already in the 2026 preseason.
Benoit, a capable NHL defenseman, will take over the veteran No. 7 role previously filled by players like Marc Staal, Erik Johnson, and Noah Juulsen, and it helps that he was already once teammates with Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale in Anaheim.
Almost by default, the Woll trade is looking like another win in an increasingly long line of them for Briere, which surely includes the recent additions of Zegras and Vladar.
The big move hasn't come yet, of course, but the foundation is there for the Flyers to add a massive piece and immediately reap the rewards of such a deal in the future.
