National Lacrosse League

Yesterday, was not only the end of the month for a few Rock players but the end of the line as well. In a very busy Halloween Day the Toronto Rock pulled the trigger on a couple of deals that saw a couple veteran players dispersed throughout the league.

The first deal of the day saw recently acquired veteran, Darren Mutch, traded to the New York Saints in return for the Saints second round draft pick during the 2003 Entry Draft. Although Mutch had a excellent training camp the Rock staff couldn't fit the veteran player into their system. Mutch, a defensive specialist, played 8 games last year between the Columbus Landsharks and the Rochester Knighthawks.

The second trade of the day saw veteran Niall Maynard, Tim Hamm and Wes Suddons depart for the Columbus, in return the Landsharks sent their second round draft pick to the team in 2003. Niall was a second year player that started 10 of the Rocks regular season games during the 2000-2001 season.

All the trades were to done to accommodate the needs for the Rock organization, but at the same time, it gave each player the opportunity to flourish on a new team. All these players are very talented and we wish them the best of luck with their new teams said Les Bartley in regards to the traded players.

The Rock are preparing to head up East this weekend to Halifax and St. John's. This exhibition game is the first-ever for both clubs and will prove to be extremely helpful to the coaching staffs. All players will be included in this pre-season battle that will see Montreal and Toronto battle for their first time since the recent expansion.