Coming off making the playoffs and reaching the second round, the Philadelphia Flyers made a move early in the offseason that they think improves them in net and on the blue line.
Philadelphia acquired goaltender Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. They sent goalie Samuel Ersson, defenseman Emil Andrae and a third-round pick in the draft next week to the Leafs.
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FILE - Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson puts his glove out for a save during an NHL hockey game against the Montréal Canadiens, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)
FILE - Philadelphia Flyers' Emil Andrae looks on during an NHL hockey game against the Montréal Canadiens, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)
FILE - Toronto Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit plays against the Philadelphia Flyers during an NHL hockey game, Jan. 8, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) makes a glove save against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period of an NHL hockey game, March 28, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton, File)
The swap gives Philadelphia a dependable backup to prospective starter Dan Vladar, who is coming off a career year that included a strong first round of the playoffs to beat Pittsburgh before losing to eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina.
“We thought it was a chance to improve the team, help them take another step,” Flyers general manager Daniel Briere told reporters at a previously scheduled predraft news conference in Voorhees, New Jersey. "We felt that Woll is a step forward for us and will be able to help Vladdy in a tandem role.”
Vladar is eligible to sign an extension July 1. Briere said the team and Vladar's camp were working to get that deal over the finish line, and the hope in adding Woll is it allows for a better sharing of the crease than when Ersson struggled early this past season.
“The better you can have both of them going, I think it helps,” Briere said. "It prevents injuries and (Vladar) stays fresh and he can, I think, perform better. We hope that they can push each other that way.”
Benoit is a bit older than Andrae at 28 and makes the Flyers bigger and stronger on the back end. Briere said having smaller defensemen Cam York and Jamie Drysdale led him to want someone like Benoit, who is 6-foot-4 and over 200 pounds.
“It’s going to probably be a little easier for the coaches having a guy like Simon Benoit back there to use,” Briere said. “We like the physicality that he brings, and we like the size and the skating aspect, too. He’s a really good skater.”
The move to add Ersson, Andrae and a pick for Woll and Benoit is new Toronto general manager John Chayka’s first change to the roster since taking over in early May. He framed it as a salary cap-saving move, along with getting a defenseman in his mid-20s.
“What we like about this opportunity was it allowed us to create some flexibility,” Chayka said on a video call with reporters. "We think flexibility and optionality are assets to any great organization, and certainly this allows us to be in a better spot as we think about the entire offseason plan.”
Woll counts $3.67 million against that cap the next two seasons, while Benoit is under contract one more year at $1.35 million. Andrae and Ersson are restricted free agents.
Given the Leafs already have Anthony Stolarz and Dennis Hildeby expected to be atop their goaltending depth chart, Chayka was noncommittal when asked if the club would tender Ersson a qualifying offer to retain his rights.
“He’s a good, young goaltender,” Chayka said. “He’s someone that we identified as having some upside and someone that our staff could work with.”
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FILE - Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson puts his glove out for a save during an NHL hockey game against the Montréal Canadiens, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)
FILE - Philadelphia Flyers' Emil Andrae looks on during an NHL hockey game against the Montréal Canadiens, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)
FILE - Toronto Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit plays against the Philadelphia Flyers during an NHL hockey game, Jan. 8, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) makes a glove save against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period of an NHL hockey game, March 28, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s top diplomat said Tuesday that the tentative deal to end the war with the United States would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon — a condition Israel has already rejected and that could sink the agreement, leading to the resumption of all-out war.
The deal, which is between the U.S. and Iran, has not been made public, and officials have sometimes offered contradictory interpretations of what is in it. While Israel is not party to the agreement, it is part of the war after joining the U.S. in launching strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Israel has also fought the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon and seized large swaths of that country.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Israel’s continued occupation of southern Lebanon would violate the deal.
“Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end,” Araghchi said.
A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss outlines of the agreement, has said the deal does not call for an Israeli withdrawal. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would remain in Lebanon “as long as necessary.”
The negotiations to end the war have been plagued by such disagreements before, leading to a prolonged but uneasy ceasefire that has failed to develop into a permanent end to hostilities and has left the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the world’s energy supplies, effectively shut.
In other developments, Switzerland’s foreign ministry said the signing ceremony for the deal will take place Friday at the Bürgenstock resort near the city of Luzern. Ministry officials said Tuesday that the location was proposed by Pakistani and Qatari mediators, along with the U.S. and Iran.
Pakistan has said the deal called for an end to military operations, including in Lebanon, as Iran long insisted. But Araghchi’s call for an Israeli withdrawal adds a new wrinkle.
It puts Israel into a dilemma as it tries to degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities without undermining an agreement championed by its most important ally, the United States. Israel invaded southern Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles across the border during the first week of the war. Since then, it has expanded its military footprint to levels unseen in decades and struck targets deep inside Beirut.
Though Hezbollah has been weakened, it retains the ability to strike Israel, leaving open questions about the effectiveness of Israel’s campaign.
As of Tuesday evening, Netanyahu had not seen the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, said a person familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door details. Another person, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations between Israel and the U.S., said Israeli officials have not asked U.S. negotiators for the memorandum.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The White House declined to comment on whether Netanyahu or Israeli officials have reviewed the agreement.
The Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, told NPR that while Israel does not know the details of the deal, the apparent inclusion of Lebanon is “unnecessary and unhelpful.”
The extent of Israel’s strikes have at times opened a public fracture between its leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump, who told reporters Tuesday that he was “not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah.”
“It just goes on forever,” he said of Israel’s strategy. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed nearly 4,000 people, including hundreds of civilians, and displaced more than 1 million. “Israel’s fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed,” Trump said.
Israel and the Lebanese government have entered into their own U.S.-mediated direct negotiations, of which Hezbollah was not a part. Those talks have yielded several announced ceasefires that were never implemented on the ground.
Lebanese officials initially tried to keep Lebanon separate from the U.S.-Iran negotiations, not wanting to be seen as beholden to Iran, but they have since welcomed the announcement that the deal to end the U.S.-Iran war would include a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Araghchi’s latest comments appear to match the understanding of two regional officials with direct knowledge of the interim deal. The officials, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations, said it would require Israel to leave nearly all the territory it occupies in Lebanon, minus a few hilltop points along the border seized earlier.
The officials say Iran insisted the accord include Lebanon in the last days of the negotiations.
The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL reported that Israel and Hezbollah are still exchanging fire but at a “significantly reduced level,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday.
Lebanon is only one of several major questions hanging over the ceasefire ahead of the planned ceremonial signing.
The agreement is meant to provide a meaningful truce in a monthslong war that has killed thousands across the Middle East, including the top leaders of Iran’s theocracy, and raised the prices of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the region.
The agreement provides for the “immediate” opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the American naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters Monday on condition of anonymity to discuss outlines of the agreement.
Pakistani officials who helped broker the agreement also described plans for the simultaneous lifting of Iran’s closure of the strait and the U.S. blockade.
The United States and Iran will then begin 60 days of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and the potential lifting of sanctions, Pakistani officials who helped broker the interim deal said, speaking on condition of anonymity about the unpublished text.
The pact also includes the possibility of releasing Iran’s frozen funds and a $300 billion fund to help rebuild Iran if Tehran meets certain benchmarks, senior U.S. officials told reporters Monday. Trump later said the United States would not “invest” funds in Iran.
Regarding the timeline, regional officials who spoke to AP about the deal said the release of frozen Iranian assets would be tied to Tehran implementing the deal. Gulf Arab states also have pledged to inject billions of dollars in Iran’s economy, they added, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations.
U.S. officials have not yet explained how they see the agreement addressing Iran’s nuclear program, including who will be in charge of verifying that Iran is in compliance and who will destroy or remove highly enriched uranium believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were badly damaged by U.S. strikes last summer.
Iran has agreed to discuss ways to possibly “dilute or remove” the uranium, the regional officials said. However, it remains unclear whether Tehran would agree to that, particularly with hard-liners opposing to giving it up.
Trump said he’s open to sending the emerging agreement to the U.S. Congress for review.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in the French Alps, Trump said, “I like the idea, send it to Congress please.” He added, “I mean who wouldn’t approve it.”
Republicans on Capitol Hill say they want Trump to provide more information about the agreement, with some expressing skepticism that the deal can deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo)
Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo)
A man who returns to his village following the announcement of an initial ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, flashes victory sign as he stands on the rubble of his destroyed house in Nabatiyeh town, southern Lebanon, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
People walk along Tajrish square in northern Tehran, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman waves an Iranian flag during a pro-government campaign as a portrait of the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, is displayed at right, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
