While trades can happen at any time throughout the season, many trades that make headlines happen on one of two days: draft day and trade deadline day. 2013 was no different as a few trades were made between draft day and the start of the season, between the start of the season and the trade deadline, and during the offseason, but let’s take a look at two trades in particular, one that happened in January on draft day and one that happened in July, on the day of the trade deadline.
Each year on draft day, there are teams who are looking to move up the draft order in order to try and find the next big thing in Major League Lacrosse and build for the future, while others are willing to trade their draft spot for veterans in order to help them during their season.
At the 2013 draft in January which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Denver Outlaws made the trade of the day when they were able to acquire Will Mangan and the 29th overall pick for Mark Matthews, who was the fourth overall pick in 2012.
While Mangan was an important addition to the Outlaws roster, the 29th pick that Denver used to select Eric Law was the kicker. In nine games for the Outlaws this season, Law has scored 24 goals and dished out 9 assists. The offensive output from Law was a big reason why Denver was able to become the first team in MLL history to finish the regular season undefeated.
Because of the early trade Mangan and Law were able to switch teams before the beginning of the season, but there was also a blockbuster trade that occurred during the middle of the season between the Boston Cannons and New York Lizards that made both multiple time all-star midfielder Stephen Berger and attackman Steve Mock switch jerseys with only a little more than a month left in the season.
In the trade, New York sent Berger, who has spent seven of his eight seasons in Long Island/New York, to Boston for rookie Steve Mock. While it is hard to compare the production from these two players because of the different positions that they play, it is safe to say that each side feels that they got a good end of the deal.
After the trade, Berger was able to play in five games for his new team, tallying seven goals and handing out 6 assists, while Mock was able to score 11 times for New York, also in five games played. The two players were able to help their respective teams push for a playoff spot, even though both teams were left on the outside looking in at the playoff picture.
Trades can be a stressful situation for players, coaches, and general managers, but they can also be very exciting for the fans. While we were able to look at the production from the traded players during the 2013 season, the winners/losers of these trades may not be seen for a couple years down the road.
