Cannons trade Lyle Thompson to Chrome for Brendan Nichtern, Jesse Bernhardt and 3 draft picks
Why It Should Happen: In my proposed blockbuster trade, the Cannons would ship Lyle Thompson to join several of his Georgia Swarm teammates on the Chrome and the Cannons would get Brendan Nichtern, Jesse Bernhardt, Chrome’s 2023 first and third round draft picks and 2024 first round draft pick.
“Why would you ever trade Lyle Thompson?” is the question you’re probably asking, but if you’re Coach Holman, wouldn’t you at least consider trading the best player in the league if it meant adding the 2022 PLL Rookie of the Year, a veteran defenseman and three draft picks?
The Cannons’ biggest needs are on the defensive end, with only two defenders currently under contract. The addition of Bernhardt would provide an immediate veteran presence, especially if free agent Brodie Merrill doesn’t return. Bernhardt spent time with Cannons defender Jake Pulver in 2020 and while it would be obviously hard for Chrome coach Tim Soudan to part ways with his captain and veteran defenseman, making the move for Thompson could be worth it in the long run.
The Cannons second biggest need… is draft picks. After trading their 2023 first rounder during last year’s draft and 2023 third rounder in exchange for Jake Froccaro, the Cannons are left with just two draft picks in this year’s draft. Not only would this trade get them back in the first round and third round, it would set them up for next year’s draft as well.
Finally, the biggest question mark is the availability of Brendan Nichtern due to his potential military commitments. I don’t expect Nichtern to be able to play in every game this season, but for a Cannons team that has Asher Nolting, adding Nichtern for even just half of the season’s games could be enough to pull the trigger on this deal.
As for Soudan, the trade value for Nichtern might never be higher and even though he’d be giving up a lot of assets, he’d be acquiring the best player in the PLL and setting his team up for success for a long time. The fit from a culture standpoint is also just as good. Thompson has played with several of Chrome’s core players during both his time in the NLL and previous MLL days. While giving up three draft picks is a lot, the Chrome are in win-now mode and acquiring Lyle would immediately vault them to favorites to win it all.
Why It Won’t Happen: Does Brian Holman really want to be known as the coach who traded Lyle Thompson? Probably not.
Yet, for an armchair GM like myself, it’s at least fun to consider.
