The Links: 2023 NLL trade deadline
Rhys Duch (Photo: Jack Dempsey)
The National Lacrosse League’s trade deadline was this past Monday at 3pm ET. Not much happened.
Three trades total were made on the day:
The Colorado Mammoth traded Rhys Duch to the Saskatchewan Rush in exchange for a conditional second-round pick in the 2023 Entry Draft.
The Las Vegas Desert Dogs traded Garrett McIntosh to the Colorado Mammoth in exchange for a conditional second-round pick in the 2025 Entry Draft.
The Panther City Lacrosse Club traded Liam Brynes to the Philadelphia Wings in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2023 Entry Draft.
Of note regarding the Duch deal between the Rush and Mammoth, “…the Rush sent the Mammoth a third-round pick in 2023, which would become a second-round pick if Saskatchewan makes the playoffs.”
Over the weekend, Saskatchewan dropped from fourth to fifth in the West after their fourth straight loss. Coincidently, Colorado jumped them in the standings after beating the Bandits.
Jimmy Quinlan & Derek Keenan, Saskatchewan Rush (Photo: Brent Just)
“The bottom line is our veterans, our core group, have to play better. That’s what it comes down to. The young guys have been really good. They just play, and they play hard every night. It’s just our core veteran group has to be better, and they know it. It’s not a secret. That’s what it’s going to come down to the last six games. We’re doing what we did in terms of staying the course because we think they’re still capable of doing this, and we’re much better than we’ve played the last four games.” - Derek Keenan, Rush GM (Saskatoon StarPhoenix)
Dealing with injuries and struggling to score in Week 1, the Mammoth signed Duch to a one-year deal just a few days into the 2022-23 season. A two-time NLL Cup winner, Duch had previously played with the San Jose/Washington/Vancouver Stealth (2009-2018), Calgary Roughnecks (2019-2020), Halifax Thunderbirds (2022) and Mammoth. Earlier this season, Duch became just the twelfth player in NLL history to register 1,000 regular-season points.
Although only three trades happened on the actual trade deadline day, a few were made leading up to the league’s cut off last week, which included the Rush. Saskatchewan traded former first-round pick Marshall Powless to the Albany FireWolves for a second-round selection in 2025. The 2-9 FireWolves, who many felt might make another move on Monday, did not, but had traded vet defender Greg Downing to the Toronto Rock last week.
The Mammoth turned out to be the most active team at the deadline, also picking up defenceman Garrett McIntosh in addition to dealing Duch. Last year, the team was also more active than most on deadline day, getting Tyson Gibson and Anthony Joaquim in separate swaps to add depth heading into the playoffs, which obviously went pretty well.
McIntosh signed a one-year deal with the Desert Dogs on August 18, 2022. The new Mammoth defender co-led Las Vegas with 13 blocks after Week 16, last year finishing third in the same category across the league while playing with the Vancouver Warriors (20). Right now McIntosh is tied for tenth in blocks. The Mammoth’s shots blocked leader is captain Robert Hope with 12.
Garrett McIntosh
The last deal on the day saw Byrnes returned to the Wings, who lost the American defender to Panther City in the team’s 2021 Expansion Draft. Byrnes was one of the few players still with PCLC since being taken in that draft. The others are Matt Hossack, Patrick Dodds, Nick Damude, Phil Caputo and Liam Patten, all considered core players on the thriving 8-5 squad. PCLC also later traded Chris Wardle back to the Mammoth immediately after that draft, acquiring Jordan Trottier and Will Malcom. Malcom is an MVP contender in 2023.
The Wings, who have beaten both the East-topping Toronto Rock (11-10W) and Rochester Knighthawks (9-8OTW) in recent weeks, are very much fighting for the fourth spot in the conference. Philadelphia and Halifax are tied at 6-7. The two teams play one another this Saturday at Wells Fargo (7pm ET).
Brynes, who cracked The Lax Mag Top 100 this year after a standout first season with Panther City (18GP, 10PTS, 137LB, 26CTO, 7BLK), has seen a slide in his stats across the board a year later (12GP, 5PTS, 52LB, 13CTO, 1BLK). After starting his NLL career in 2017 with the Georgia Swarm, the Wings would later sign Byrnes via free agency. Taken in the 2021 Expansion Draft by Panther City, Philadelphia GM & Head Coach Paul Day said, “Liam has been a strong player for us both on and off the turf.”
Unlike Duch and McIntosh, who’s one-year contracts will expire at the conclusion of the current season, the Wings get Byrnes for the remainder of 2023 and next year. Byrnes signed a two-year contract with Panther City on August 17, 2022.
Most would consider Byrnes a lock to make Team USA’s 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championship team. The Americans recently announced Regy Thorpe as their head coach.