It’s always hard to predict NLL free agency, when we barely know where players will end up. Most player movement in the past has occurred with trades or dispersal drafts. We take a look at last year’s free agent signings and where some guys could end up.Some notes to keep in mind before we even look at last year’s FA signings;
* This season the rosters will go down to 21 instead of 23 players.
* The season will run through May, impacting MLL players.
* The 18 game regular season might affect more injury-prone players along with older players.
* Minnesota can’t spend much money and presumably Edmonton cannot either with the Saskatoon rumor.
Last season we didn’t see many free agent signings. A few examples were defenseman Chris White signing with Toronto, Richard Morgan signing with Colorado and Derek Suddons signing with Buffalo. The rest were either traded or re-signed with their teams. No RFAs signed elsewhere, but in the past we have seen it with Paul Dawson and others.
Unresteicted
Ryan Ward- Edmonton
Ward is a former member of the Minnesota Swarm and he still lives in Minnesota, making this a possible cost-efficient signing for the Swarm while still ending up with a scorer. However, with Corey Small out, the Rush need offense and they will obviously make a push to keep him.
Brandon Miller- Philadelphia
Miller has been a goaltender with the Wings for a long time, but don’t be totally shocked if he ends up elsewhere. The Wings brought in Evan Kirk who is an NLL starting goaltender and they drafted Don Alton. That might indicate the Wings are comfortable with letting Miller test the market.
Scott Evans- Toronto
Evans could end up anywhere, he is a veteran who has seen his ups and downs and Toronto might want to look at getting younger. It’s hard to say who might make a play for him, but Vancouver might want a right handed playmaker type.
Kasey Biernes- Toronto
This one might be more of a long shot, but Toronto has a ton of righty shooters and the Philadelphia Wings could strengthen that side that right now includes just Kevin Crowley, Mike McClellan and Luke Wiles.
Casey Powell- Colorado
Colorado is stacked on offense and especially with righty shooters. They have already added Drew Westervelt and Jackson Decker, meaning Powell’s time in Denver might be over. He currently plays MLL in Chesapeake, and we will see if that has any impact on where he ends up.
Tracey Kelusky- Buffalo
There is almost zero chance Kelusky returns to Buffalo, especially with reduced roster sizes. However, does anyone else even attempt to take a flyer on him? His production has been horrible the past two seasons and he is now rebounding from injury.
Mike Hominuck- Buffalo
Hominuck is a player that likely won’t be with Buffalo with the roster reduction. He is a lefty shooter on a potentially heavy left side for the Bandits. However, both Edmonton and Calgary need lefty shooters, so there is a fit in there for him.
Greg Downing- Minnesota
Downing lives in Denver and he plays for the Denver Outlaws in Major League Lacrosse. The Swarm aren’t going to try too hard to overpay anyone so the Mammoth might be a good option for Downing.
Restricted
Ryan Dilks- Edmonton
Dilks is a very effective transition defender who can also spark an offense. He is young and talented and is on his third NLL team. He is buried a bit in Edmonton because of their addition of Nik Billic. A team like Colorado who lacks speed on defense might take a look at him.
Mitch Belisle- Minnesota
Belisle is an American player so obviously Philadelphia is the first thought potentially. The Swarm have drafted several young defenders and with Belisle being a veteran, they might be alright with moving on from him.
Kevin Buchanan- Philadelphia
Buchanan is kind of a redundant player for a Wings team that has Kevin Ross and Brendan Mundorf. He bounced back last year after a bad year in Buffalo so teams might take a look at him and Philly might be okay with letting him go.
