New York sends Fox to Panther City for Cummings as teams address early urgent needs
Chad Cummings
It didn’t take newly appointed New York Riptide GM Rich Lisk long to pull the trigger on the team’s first deal since taking over from a dismissed Jim Veltman just a day ago.
The Riptide have dealt forward Jake Fox to the Panther City Lacrosse Club for PCLC captain Chad Cummings.
The addition of Cummings gives the Riptide an experienced Cup-winning defenseman with size, and keeps in the team’s off-season (and now in-season) theme of adding veteran defensive depth.
Jake Fox
While the Riptide did add some beneficial bodies to their own end over the summer, the team has had issues keeping the ball out of their net during a disappointing 0-3 start this season. In fact, no team in the league is allowing more goals against per game than New York is right now:
New York Riptide - 16.67
Georgia Swarm - 15.67
Vancouver Warriors - 15.00
Philadelphia Wings - 13.00
San Diego Seals - 12.75
Fox, a second round Riptide selection in the 2019 NLL Entry Draft, has shown pro promise over his first three seasons in the big box leagues (23GP, 41PTS). Panther City’s offense has struggled during their 2-3 start, currently one of just four teams to average under ten goals for per game:
Las Vegas Desert Dogs - 7.67
Vancouver Warriors - 8.25
Colorado Mammoth - 9.00
Panther City Lacrosse Club - 9.80
Georgia Swarm - 10.67
New York Riptide - 10.67
Prior to the start of the season, Panther City traded forward Randy Staats to the Halifax Thunderbirds. Staats, who missed the 2021-22 season due to a year-ending knee injury, currently leads the NLL in points (4GP, 33PTS).
Minutes after the move was announced, Fox tweeted, “Thank you New York Riptide for a fantastic 2 plus years with the org. Love this team and the people that run the show. Thank you to the fans in the barn at all the home games! Excited for my next home in Texas!”
Panther City’s next game is this Saturday against the Philadelphia Wings (7pm ET), while the Riptide have a huge home match against the undefeated Rochester Knighthawks on Sunday afternoon (3pm ET).
The Riptide and Knighthawks (2.0) officially joined the league as expansion entires for the 2019-20 season. While neither has qualified for the playoffs yet, Rochester has jumped out to an impressive start this season at 4-0. Few players from the 2019 NLL Expansion Draft remain with either team today.