2-time Major League Lacrosse MVP Paul Rabil dealt to New York Lizards

By Phil Watson | Jan 5, 2015

In a huge deal in Major League Lacrosse, the New York Lizards on Monday acquired two-time MLL MVP Paul Rabil in a trade with the Boston Cannons.

Paul Rabil, a two-time Most Valuable Player in Major League Lacrosse, was traded Monday by the Boston Cannons to the New York Lizards.

In a press release announcing the deal, MLL also said that midfielder Mike Stone is heading from Boston to New York, with veteran midfielder Max Seibald, defenseman Brian Karalunas, first- and second-round picks in the 2016 Collegiate Draft and a first-rounder in the 2017 draft going to Boston in return.

Boston then flipped Karalunas and a seventh-round pick this year to the Ohio Machine for defenseman Chad Wiedmaier and a first-rounder in this year’s draft.

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Rabil, the No. 1 overall pick by the Cannons in the 2008 draft, had 20 goals, including one 2-pointer, and 33 assists in 12 games.

But Boston missed the postseason with a 6-8 record in 2014, placing fifth in the eight-team circuit.

Rabil helped the Cannons to the 2011 MLL championship and had put up 185 goals and 354 points in 81 career games.

New York was 9-5 last year and lost to the Denver Outlaws, 14-13, in an MLL semifinal match on Aug. 16.

Stone played in nine games last season, notching five goals and six points. He was a 25-goal scorer for Boston in 2013.

Seibald had 17 goals and 21 points in 11 games for the Lizards, while Karalunas played in all 14 games for New York, notching an assist while controlling 35 ground balls.

Wiedmaier had 11 ground balls controlled in 12 games for the Machine, which lost to the top-seeded Rochester Rattlers in the semifinals.

Rabil set an MLL single-season record with 72 points in 2012.

“We are elated,” Lizards CEO Jeffrey Rudnick said. “Paul Rabil has won everywhere he has been and now he is finally on our side. Teaming Rabil and Mike Stone with Rob Pannell, Ned Crotty and the rest of the Lizards will certainly put us in teh hunt for the Steinfeld Cup for years to come.”

“Paul is a proven winner, having won titles at the NCAA, [National Lacrosse League, [Federation of International Lacrosse] and an MLL level,” Lizards coach Joe Spallina said. “To acquire him in the prime of his playing career is an opportunity the organization could not pass up. Having coached against Paul, I consider him arguably the best player in the world.”

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