The Free Agent Season Opens In The NLL

Photo courtesy of sportico.com

By Gary Groob Columnist and Co-Host of NLL Talk on Spanglish Sports World and Spanglish World Networks

TORONTO. - With Free Agency opening this week, I thought we would look at a few of the bigger names, and where they might land.

Kevin Crowley

I thought Vancouver was where Crowley might land last year.  After an illustrious career in Philadelphia,  the All-Star creation in San Diego was a more tempting place for him to go.  With the Warriors hiring Curt Malawsky, Kevin Crowley would be a huge addition on the right side of the floor to play alongside Keegan Bal.  The team is in total rebuild, and the leadership of Crowley would be huge in righting the ship out west.

Matt Beers

Matt Beers spent the first 10 years of his pro career with the Washington/Vancouver franchise, where he won an NLL title and solidified himself as one of the league’s toughest defenders. After a falling out with the previous Warriors’ regime, Beers played in Saskatchewan for the past two seasons, where he continued to show that his game is still at an elite level.  Coming back would be the right way for Beers to finish his career and could guide the youthful presence with his hard-nosed style of play.

Kyle Rubisch

Even though his rights were traded to the Seals, there’s no telling what he will do as a free agent. There had been rumblings that he wanted to be closer to home in Ontario, which leads one to think Buffalo or Toronto.  The Rock already have Corbeil and Matthews (former teammates in Saskatchewan) and one final push to the cup would make sense for Rubes in Toronto.

Shayne Jackson

Although Shayne Jackson has embedded his roots in Georgia, the thought of playing alongside former Junior A teammate and lifelong friend Mark Matthews while battling for an NLL title for the team you grew up watching certainly has to be enticing. The former NLL MVP would be another gem in an already bedazzled offence, creating one of the most loaded left sides in lacrosse with Matthews, Dan Craig and Corey Small.

Kyle Buchanan

Obviously, the Bandits would love to keep their diminutive work-horse, but they are incredibly deep on the right side of the floor with the likes of Smith, Fraser, Nanticoke, La Rue and Kozevnikov all vying for floor-time.  Buchanan would be a great fit in Toronto, and with the Rock in the "All In" mode, this makes a lot of sense.

With the slew of trades and signings of lots of players on the market, these players' stock has risen even higher.  With many teams on the brink of greatness, any of these players would be huge in the building of a contender.

The next few days will be extremely interesting and influential on how the upcoming year will play out.