The Boston Massacre: The Blockbuster Lizards & Cannons Trade Hasn't Aged Well For Boston.

A few weeks ago the NY Lizards and the Boston Cannons announced a huge trade. The Cannons traded away star attackman Will Manny (team leader in points at the time), and productive midfielder Joe LoCascio to the NY Lizards for midfielders Dave Lawson and Chris LaPierre.

The trade definitely raised some eyebrows around the league, especially from Cannons fans. Indeed, Will Manny was the face of the Cannons, he had a great 2016 season (50 points, 28 Gs, two 2pt Gs, & 20 As), and he was playing at a high level in 2017 as well (30 points, 18 Gs & 12 As through nine games with Boston). However, while losing Manny was tough, back in June it looked like Lawson & LaPierre were solid acquisitions for the Cannons.

“We are thrilled to have Dave Lawson and Lapierre join the Boston Cannons family!” said Head Coach Sean Quirk. “We know they will be a great addition to our already extremely close net culture and winning tradition. I want to personally thank Will Manny for being a captain and a leader for Boston during his entire MLL career. It has been a pleasure to coach him the past two seasons. Will is someone that I connected with immediately when I took the job with the Cannons last season. I wish him the best of success in New York and with his college coaching career.”

Both Lapierre and Lawson will help stabilize the Cannons midfield as the team enters the stretch run of the season. Lapierre will help the Cannons in the defensive midfield, and he’s a good player to have alongside fellow short-stick midfielders Josh Hawkins and Justin Turri. He brings size (6’3”, 210 pounds) and experience to an overall young Cannons team.

The Cannons have needed offensive help all season long, especially in the midfield position. The team is hoping Lawson will provide some scoring out of the midfield. He should be a good add to an offensive midfield consisting of Max Seibald, Kyle Jackson, and Sergio Perkovic.

Everything should’ve been all good for both teams. NY got another star in Manny and a solid midfielder in LoCascio, while Boston got two players to help solidify their midfield. Everybody wins, right?

Well the trade has worked out nicely for NY. Indeed, both Manny and LoCascio have played in two games for the Lizards since leaving Boston, and both have produced on the field for their new team; Manny has seven points (7 Gs), while LoCascio has chipped in with 6 points (4 Gs, one 2pt G, & 1 A).

However, the situation isn’t as rosy in Boston. Today (coincidentally on the same day that the Celtics formally signed star free agent Gordon Hayward), the Cannons dropped a bombshell on their fans and announced that neither Lawson, nor LaPierre will play for Boston in 2017 (or probably ever).

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Cannons have released the following statement regarding the June 27 trade with the New York Lizards:

“Recently acquired midfielder Dave Lawson has informed the Boston Cannons that he intends to file retirement paperwork with Major League Lacrosse and will not join the team this season. The Cannons were not made aware of his intentions prior to the trade. We respect Dave’s decision and wish him well after a great MLL career. In addition, midfielder Chris LaPierre has elected to not report to the team and the Cannons will gain an additional roster spot. The Boston Cannons are appealing to Major League Lacrosse to address additional compensation for the June 27 trade with the New York Lizards.”

Yep, you read that correctly! The two players that the Boston Cannons traded their star player Will Manny for decided to retire (Lawson) or not even report (LaPierre) instead of playing for the Cannons. Woof, that’s gotta sting.

While retiring instead of reporting is not a common occurrence in the MLL, players deciding to not report after a trade is actually fairly common, or at least common enough that most MLL teams plan for it when they make their trades. I’ll allow our boy Joe Keegan to explain.

“In this case, such terms weren't included.” You can say that again, Joe!!

Anyway, I’m sure there is something the Cannons can do, right, Joe? I mean in 2011 David Stern vetoed a trade that would’ve sent Chris Paul from the Pelicans to the Lakers. Surely the MLL can do something about this situation. This can’t be allowed to stand without some type of recompense for the Cannons, right? Right?!?

Oh ..... well that’s not optimal. So after trading away two key players, including the face of the franchise/leading scorer in Will Manny, the Cannons walked away with ... nothing.

The last time Boston got hoodwinked like this in trade with NY was nearly 100 years ago. Lacrosse Twitter had a field day with this news of course.

Anyway, this has gotta hurt if you’re a Boston Cannons fan. Hopefully the fact that Beantown’s four other major professional teams have won 10 championships since 2000 will help them get through this difficult time.