NLL Season Preview: From 14 to 12 and Everything Inbetween

An anniversary season calls for celebration — but it was a tumultuous offseason that got us here.

On Sept. 10, the NLL announced that the Ottawa Black Bears and Philadelphia Wings would discontinue operations. The league now moves forward with 12 clubs.

Five days later, a dispersal draft sent some of the sport’s best players to new homes, including a 115-point scorer, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and a former No. 1-overall pick.

It’s not hyperbolic to say it might have been the most impactful week of player movement in recent memory, and it sets the stage for an NLL season with more intrigue than most.

The Toronto Rock won the 2026 NLL Finals, sweeping the Halifax Thunderbirds for the franchise’s seventh title. Toronto got there as the No. 6 seed with an 11-7 record. Halifax got went 8-10 in the regular season but went on a run. 

The lesson: in the NLL, all you have to do is qualify for the postseason for a real shot at getting to the dance.

Vancouver earned the top seed last year behind Keegan Bal, who led the NLL with 124 points and won Offensive Player of the Year. Georgia goaltender Brett Dobson earned both MVP and Goaltender of the Year honors after posting a 7.86 goals-against average and an .847 save percentage. 

Toronto’s CJ Kirst, the 2025 No. 1 pick, was Rookie of the Year and established himself as the next great American star in the league.

The NLL also drew more than 1 million fans for the fourth straight season, but the attendance numbers also told the story that soon followed. Philadelphia averaged 6,420 fans per game. Ottawa averaged 4,651, the lowest in the league.

Commissioner Brett Frood framed the decision around sustainability. The league evaluates every club on committed ownership, venue and lease conditions, local market infrastructure and investment in the fan experience. 

Neither Ottawa nor Philadelphia had a viable path forward, in Frood’s eyes. The NLL said it would consider returning to either market if the right partners and conditions emerge in the future.

The “Wings” name is tied to the NLL’s earliest days, and the club played in one of the biggest media markets in the United States. Ottawa lasted just two seasons in Canada’s capital after the New York Riptide relocated there prior to the 2024-25 season.

Free agency, originally set for Aug. 1, moved to Sept. 1 and then moved again to Sept. 18. Clubs spent the summer waiting on membership decisions before they could build rosters. Fewer clubs means deeper rosters everywhere.

Clubs picked in reverse order of winning percentage over the past two seasons, with the most recent season weighted at 70 percent. Toronto, as the defending champion, picked last. 

Naturally, the teams with the most to gain made the biggest moves and positioned themselves nicely for the upcoming season.

For reference, the full dispersal draft results can be found here.

Oshawa FireWolves

Oshawa took Jeff Teat first overall. Teat posted 115 points (44 goals, 71 assists) last season, fourth in the league, and he’s the fastest player in NLL history to reach 600 career points. The FireWolves scored 179 goals last season, second-fewest in the league, and Teat helps immensely in that category — though, to be fair, he was the shoe-in choice no matter the offensive personnel.

Teat, though, did not play this summer in the Premier Lacrosse League after undergoing shoulder surgery. Reports in late September said Teat will miss training camp and remain sidelined until 2027.

Rochester Knighthawks

Rochester took Callum Jones, last season’s Defensive Player of the Year, at No. 3. The Knighthawks need him. The defense allowed the most goals in the NLL last season (239), and let down an offense that ranked fourth. 

Pair Jones with No. 1 entry draft pick Finn Thomson, who joins Connor Fields (119 points) and Ryan Lanchbury (106 points), and Rochester looks like a threat.

Las Vegas Desert Dogs

Take Rochester’s issues from 2026 and reverse them. The Desert Dogs led the NLL in goals (219) but allowed the second most (229). They used the No. 2 pick on goalie Nick Damude, acquired Toronto’s slot to add Mitchell Armstrong and Ryan Wagner, and spent first-round entry picks on defenders Michael White and Owen Tasse.

San Diego Seals

San Diego grabbed Brennan O’Neill at No. 5. The former Duke star became just the fourth player taken first overall in both the NLL and Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) drafts, and he landed on a team that needs finishing help. 

The Seals won 74.4 percent of their faceoffs last season but scored only 185 goals, tied for 11th in the league. O’Neill won’t singlehandedly change the offensive outlook, but he sure helps.

Georgia Swarm, Buffalo Bandits

The two contenders reloaded. Georgia traded with Calgary for the No. 4 pick and took Lukas Nielsen, then it added Deacon Knott, Bo Columbus and Isaiah Davis-Allen to a team that allowed a league-low 156 goals. 

Buffalo made six selections, including goalie Zach Higgins

The Sept. 24 entry draft added a fresh wave of college talent — and a lot of it was American. 

Calgary traded up to No. 5 for Joey Spallina, who finished his Syracuse career with 333 points and has box experience with the United States. Two picks later, the Roughnecks took Princeton’s Chad Palumbo, who scored 102 career goals and won an NCAA championship in May. Calgary needs them both to contribute right away.

Vancouver took 6-foot-4, 225-pound Matt Collison at No. 3. Buffalo took Syracuse defender Dante Bowen at No. 6. Toronto added shooter Silas Richmond to help a power play that scored a league-low 22 goals.

FloSports is the NLL’s new exclusive global streaming home. FloSports launched a dedicated FloLacrosse channel that carries every NLL regular-season and postseason game, plus box lacrosse from Major Series Lacrosse, the Arena Lacrosse League and the Mann Cup. 

A weekly “NLL Saturday Showcase” and the 2027 NLL Finals will also stream on the free FloSports Channel, available on Prime Video, YouTube and LG Channels. In Canada, TSN extended its partnership and returns with Friday night broadcasts.

Can Toronto repeat without CJ Kirst?

They’ll have to get by without him to open the campaign. Kirst suffered a lower-body injury while winning a PLL championship with the Philadelphia Waterdogs and will miss the start of the season. 

The Rock expect him back in the new year. Until then, Owen Hiltz, Chris Boushy and Mark Matthews will lead. At the other end, goaltie Nick Rose and Brad Kri, a Defensive Player of the Year finalist, anchor a unit that caused the second-most turnovers in the league.

Is Oshawa a playoff team?

Teat alone doesn’t erase a 6-12 season, and he is going to miss time early in the season. But adding a 115-point playmaker beside Simmons gives the FireWolves the second weapon they’ve lacked.

Did Rochester and Las Vegas fix their defenses?

Both teams could score last season. They also couldn’t stop anybody. Jones and Damude are potentially instant fixes to those problems. If they deliver, then two non-playoff teams from a season ago look dangerous.

Does continuity beat chaos?

Georgia’s biggest offseason story was keeping its core together. The Swarm return the MVP in net and the league’s stingiest defense, then added dispersal depth. In a year when half the league reshuffled, a team that already knows itself could have a head start.

Losing two markets is a setback for the league, but the top-tier talent didn’t leave. It just concentrated itself onto 12 rosters, which should set the stage for a more balanced, competitive season up and down the table.

Opening weekend is the final weekend of November. Clear your Saturdays for the next several months.