The NLL trade deadline is on March 31, 2015, at 3 pm. Unlike the recent NHL trade deadline, we’ll be lucky to see two or three trades. Especially since the league shortened rosters, there are more free agents available for teams who don’t want to trade away assets.
However, this season seems to have more potential for trades than in recent years. Jeremy Noble was already sent to Colorado and they were willing to give up two first rounders. It might be tough to part with picks for teams though since the 2015 draft is projected to be one of the best ever.
One of the more active teams could be the last place Calgary Roughnecks. They added Sean Pollock who was released by Colorado last week before defeating New England. One source indicated this week they could be talking with the Minnesota Swarm about acquiring one of their goaltenders. Another source conflicted with this and said they don’t want a goalie at all. Minnesota might instead look to move Mike Grimes who hasn’t been playing, and Colorado has shown some interest.
The Garrett Billings saga in Toronto is also interesting because they just lost Rob Hellyer for a while. They could use a forward to make up for him but it seems unlikely that they’ll come to a deal with Billings now. Could they use Billings as a chip?
The other interesting note is on the Buffalo Bandits, whom multiple sources indicated will make a splash and are involved with “big name” players. Brandon Goodwin is out which gives them a chance to acquire a lefty forward. However, it seems like they and Toronto aren’t compatible for a trade at this time.
The Vancouver Stealth would love to go after Billings but they don’t want to give up a pick and don’t have many assets to move, unless it was Johnny Powless. That’s an intriguing rumor that has been floated more than once.
