The PLL had their first ever free agency period this off-season. There was a lot of excitement heading into the off-season with lots of players looking for new contracts. While a lot of players stayed with their current teams, there were definitely some major signings.
Here are my grades for each team so far and some of their key moves in the 2023 PLL free agency period.
Atlas
Grade: C+
- Signed: Justin Guterding
- Re-signed: Mark O’Rourke, Peter Dearth, Cade Van Raaphorst, Tucker Durkin
- Retired: John Crawley
The Atlas weren’t expected to be huge players in free agency. They currently hold the No.1 pick from Cannons as well as their first round selection. Atlas will find their 2023 additions through the draft.
Archers
Grade: B+
- Signed: Challen Rogers, Mac O’Keefe
- Re-signed: Connor Fields, Matt McMahon, Tre LeClaire, Ryan Aughavin, Latrell Harris
- Retired: Dominique Alexander
- Lost: Will Manny, Marcus Holman
Losing the “Bunk Bed Boys” is a big loss for Archers, but signing Mac O’Keefe, Challen Rogers and resigning Connor Fields should still make the Archers offense a dangerous group in 2023.
Cannons
Grade: B
- Signed: Marcus Holman, Adam Ghitelman, Jeff Trainor, Kyle Hartzell
- Re-signed: Brodie Merrill
- Acquired via Trade: Matt Kavanaugh
The Cannons made some solid moves to sure up some deficiencies on their roster and that will make them more competitive in 2023.
Chaos
Grade: B
- Re-signed: Ian MacKay, Ryan Smith, Jarrod Neumann, Chase Fraser, Max Adler, Pat Resch, Kyle Jackson
- Off Holdout List: Johnny Surdick
Chaos brings the band back for next season. As long as they do enough during the regular season, they will be a contender to make it back to the PLL Championship game.
Chrome
Grade: B
- Re-signed: Jordan MacIntosh, Mike Manley, Connor Farrell, Justin Anderson
- Off Holdout List: Jesse King
Chrome brought back their key free agents and should improve as their young stars continue to get better. Resigning Connor Farrell was huge for the Chrome as they were able to hold on to one of the top faceoff guys in the game.
Redwoods
Grade: A
- Signed: Eli Mclaughlin, Wes Berg, Ryan Tierney
- Re-signed: Myles Jones, Isaiah Davis Allen, Eddy Glazener
- Retired: Drew Simoneau
The Redwoods offense should be very different from last season, especially with the additions of McLaughlin and Berg. With all the extra offensive talent, we could see big years from Rob Pannell and Myles Jones.
Waterdogs
Grade: A
- Re-signed: Everyone
- Signed: Jake Carraway
- Retired: Ryan Brown, Steven DeNapoli
Other than their two retired players, The Waterdogs are bringing everyone back from their championship team. Will adding Jake Carraway add even more scoring for the reigning champs in 2023?
Whipsnakes
Grade: B+
- Signed: Will Manny
- Re-signed: Jake Bernhardt, Mike Chanenchuk
The Whipsnakes made a huge splash snagging Will Manny, who should fit nicely with Zed Williams and Matt Rambo. Keeping their defensive leader Bernhardt, and their Swiss Army Knife Chanenchuk, are huge additions even if they don’t move the needle.
