Today, the PLL announced their key off season dates.
On October 26th the trade window will open for all eight clubs. All eight teams will be able to trade players (including those on expiring contracts) and draft picks through December 2nd at 5:00PM ET. Teams will also be able to re-sign players who are on their own roster.
During this time Whipsnakes LC, Chrome LC, Archers LC, and Atlas LC will have the chance to add players from the player pool to participate in the 2023 Championship Series in February. If they are unable to field a 12-man Championship Series roster from their current 25-man roster, then those clubs can extend a Championship Series contract to a member of the player pool that will run through February.
On March 6th, 2023 following the Championship Series, the trade window will open and the first-ever free agency window will open. Team rosters will reset to 25 players.
Players who were active for less than 30% of eligible games in 2022 will have the opportunity to opt out of their current contract to sign with a different club. If a player opts out but is not signed by a new club by April 1st, then that player will remain on their current contract.
What will interim head coach Steve Brooks do with his newfound power as head coach of the Bulls?
If he is active right away, will that be a signal that he is being retained and the interim tag will be dropped?
Do they try to bring back Jake Carraway? Does Carraway want to come back?
We mentioned last week that a cold shooting spell between Dox Aiken and Daniel Bucaro may have doomed the Bulls. Bucaro is a free agent. It would be sensible to sign him to keep arguably the most athletic midfield intact.
Team captain and defensive stalwart Tucker Durkin is also a free agent. Is it time to rebuild the defense or do they run it back one more time?
The Archers may look entirely different in 2023. Marcus Holman, Scott Ratliff, Will Manny, Connor Fields, Tre Leclaire, Latrell Harris, and Adam Ghitelman are on expiring contracts. Similar to the Durkin situation, how close to the Archers feel they are to breaking through and can they many of the aforementioned veterans return?
Leclaire proved to be insanely valuable as a capable two way midfielder. He must be resigned.
Were you as surprised to learn Redwoods midfielder Myles Jones was not signed through at least 2023 as we were? The 6’5″ 260 pounder had a down regular season finishing with 22 points after a 32 point campaign in 2021. Jones has already been on two PLL teams. Could he find himself on a third in five seasons?
Carraway being a healthy scratch was eye catching at the start of the season, but Justin Guterding not being in the lineup for the second half might have flown under the radar. The Whipsnakes were involved in eight games decided by two goals or less. Their two losses on the season were by a score of 11-10. The Waterdogs did it to them twice.
The Whips scored the fifth most goals in the league. Despite playing in only seven games, Guterding finished as the third leading point scorer from the midfield and fifth overall on the team. He did not dress after the July 30th 9-8 win over the Chrome in which he had two assists. He scored goals in five of seven appearances and registered at least one point in every game averaging 2.28 for the season.
Perhaps, Guterding didn’t fit into the offense as well when Zed Williams returned from NLL duties and they wanted a more natural midfielder to provide better short stick defense.
Guterding and Fields seem to be similar players. Both were elite secondary scorers and creators this summer. Do they need an expanded role on a new team?
Do the Chaos embrace their player pool reinforcement strategy to get them through the opening portion of the 2023 season until the NLL athletes arrive again? Perhaps, they are hoping for a less successful season from the Bandits. Do they swap in more Americans? Maybe, they could bring in Canadians from different NLL teams.
Wes Berg (San Diego Seals), Chase Fraser (Buffalo Bandits), Kyle Jackson (Philadelphia Wings), Challen Rogers (Toronto Rock), Ryan Smith (Rochester Knighthawks), Ian MacKay (Buffalo Bandits), Max Adler (Buffalo Bandits) are all eligible for free agency.
Berg seemed to fall out of favor. He did not dress for the playoffs.
