TRADE: LAKERS SEND LEMCKE AND MICHEL TO BROOKLIN FOR MARK MATTHEWS

The Peterborough Century 21 Lakers have acquired lefty forward Mark Matthews from the Brooklin Lacrosse Club, the team announced Wednesday night.

Matthews, 29, is a star for the National Lacrosse League’s Saskatchewan Rush. He was the league’s MVP in 2018 and has been in the top three in league scoring for four of the past five seasons.

Going the other way in the trade are defender Justin Lemcke and forward Dan Michel. The trade is pending league approval.

“To me, Mark Matthews is one of the best players in the world,” said Lakers’ general manager Paul Day. "Right away he’s going to make our power play better and be the guy that makes everybody better. He’s a game changer every night. We didn’t want to give up two young guys but we also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have Mark play for us.”

Lemcke was drafted in the third round this past season and saw action in five games for the Lakers. Michel, a former Jr. A Lakers’ captain, played sparingly as a call-up the last few seasons while playing full time for the Ennismore James Gang.

Matthews will debut with the Lakers on Thursday night.

(Courtesy of Anna Taylor - Peterborough Lakers Media)