The new Philadelphia Wings will not aim just to be competitive in their inaugural 2018-2019 NLL season. That word is a touch tame to the ears of GM-coach Paul Day, who wants to set the sights high and aim to win.

“The word competitive, I don’t like it,” he said. “It almost means you’re happy to just compete and that’s it. I think we can put a team on the floor that is going to entertain and play to win every night.”

The Wings and the other expansion team, the San Diego Seals, are waiting until after the playoffs are completed to hire coaching staffs. They will each get their first nine players via an expansion draft in July. Shawn Tilger, an ex-football player and coach who is chief operating officer of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, will represent the Wings in the coin toss that will determine which of the two new teams gets to choose to pick first in a mid-July expansion draft or the September entry draft. The coin toss loser will get first pick in the draft the winner does not select. The coin toss will occur around the start of the league’s championship series at the end of May.

The new teams are not allowed to sign any players before the Aug. 1 opening of free agency.

Getting a good goalie is the top priority.

“For any team in the NLL, goaltending is huge,” Day said.

Philadelphia will be the fourth team, joining Buffalo, Calgary and Colorado, with NHL affiliation in what will be an 11-team NLL. Comcast Spectacor owns the Wells Fargo Center as well as the Flyers and the Wings, who already have a dedicated practice facility adjacent to the Flyers’ practice quarters.

“Things are highly organized and very professional,” Day said of the organizational structure.

The retired Niagara Region police officer also manages the Canadian-champion Peterborough Lakers of Ontario’s Major Series Lacrosse summer indoor league.

“My days are filled with lacrosse,” said the Peterborough native. “I like it. So far, so good.”

There is no reason why the new Wings can’t be as popular in Philadelphia as the original Wings once were, he added. The region’s original NLL team moved to Connecticut four years ago to become the New England Black Wolves. Philly has its Wings back now.

“It was always such a strong market for lacrosse,” Day said. “Now we’ve got Comcast Spectacor and the Flyers involved. This is an ownership group that is strong in the community. And lacrosse has exploded in the Philadelphia area. I think the popularity of the Wings will be like before but even better.”

Careers Extended

The new Philadelphia and San Diego teams will get their players this summer.

“There are a lot of players on the fringe in this league who aren’t playing based on the number of teams and roster sizes,” said New England defenseman Derek Suddons, who at 39 is the oldest NLL player. “You add a couple of teams and those teams might be very good right off the bat because existing teams can only protect 10 players and one goalie. Get a good goalie and two or three good players and you start building. You could have a very good team right out of the gate.”

Expansion could extend the careers of veterans such as Suddons, who will play into his 40s if he can.

“I can’t see myself flying across the country to play but if it was in the East where the travel was a bit more realistic for myself then, depending how things happen, sure, I’ll continue playing.”

Sweet Homecoming

With lefty forward Dan Craig going down with a lower body injury, Toronto announced the acquisition of lefty forward Dan Taylor from Saskatchewan for a third-round 2020 draft pick five hours before the 3 p.m. ET trading deadline Monday.

“He wasn’t getting a lot of playing time with the Rush this season and we’ve run into an injury,” Rock owner-GM Jamie Dawick said. “It’s a good fit and a good opportunity for Dan. We’re excited to have him.”

Taylor is from Calgary. Toronto is at Calgary on Saturday so the Lehigh grad will make his Rock debut in front of family and friends.

Curtis Knight, who missed the last two games, comes off the Rush injured list to fill the roster opening created by the departure of Taylor.

No additional trades were announced before the deadline.

Milestones

Dan Dawson picked up two assists in Saskatchewan’s 16-10 home win over Buffalo last Friday to move within one point of 1,300. He’s fifth on the all-time points list.

Ryan Benesch topped 900 points with a goal and three assists in Colorado’s 13-10 win at Vancouver. He now has 904 points, which is good for 12th on the all-time list.

Callum Crawford had a goal and three assists when New England lost 14-9 at home to Toronto, increasing his points total to 836. He moved past the retired Blaine Manning into 14th spot.

MVP Numbers

The case for Mark Matthews as MVP will be strong if he continues to lead the league in assists and points. The Saskatchewan lefty had a goal and eight assists in a 16-10 win over Buffalo last Friday and now has 24 goals and 58 assists for 82 points. Teammate Robert Church is first in goals, 34, and second in points, 77. Buffalo’s Dhane Smith also has 77 points, Rochester’s Joe Resetarits has 72 and Toronto’s Adam Jones rounds out the top five with 68.

Top Goalies

It doesn’t appear as if Calgary’s Christian Del Bianco is going to be relinquishing his newfound status as No. 1 Roughnecks goalie any time soon. His 80.6 save percentage is best in the league. Colorado’s Dillon Ward is close behind at 79.4, Toronto’s Nick Rose is third at 78.7 and Saskatchewan’s Evan Kirk and Rochester’s Matt Vinc are fourth at 78.2.

Schreiber Update

The Toronto Rock lost three in a row after scoring leader Tom Schreiber went down with a knee injury and finally won without him in New England last Friday. If he doesn’t return to the lineup for a home game against Colorado on March 30, a trip to Georgia for an April 8 game might be a possibility.

Staats Stays Out

Righty Georgia forward Randy Staats has missed the two games his teammates have played since he left Toronto with an arm in a sling after a win earlier this month.

WEEK 16

Five games are to be played. Every team plays and New England plays twice.

FRIDAY

BUFFALO (6-7) at NEW ENGLAND (6-5) 7:30 p.m. ET

This will be the second of three meetings. Buffalo won 18-13 at New England on Feb. 9. The Bandits will own the season series standings tiebreaker should they win this one. Should the Black Wolves win, the season series will be up for grabs March 31 in Buffalo.

Buffalo has lost four in a row including two last weekend, 16-10 at home against Saskatchewan and 14-10 at Georgia. The Bandits have had the fourth-best offense but only the seventh-best defense.

New England is coming off a 14-9 home loss to Toronto. The Black Wolves rank eighth in both offense and defense.

SATURDAY

NEW ENGLAND (6-5 before Friday game) at GEORGIA (6-7) 7:05 p.m. ET

This will be the second of three meetings. Kevin Crowley scored four goals when New England opened its season by defeating Georgia 13-11 in Connecticut on Dec. 8. The Black Wolves will own the season series standings tiebreaker if they win this one and they have played well on the road (3-2). The Swarm are so-so at home (3-3) and if they win the season series will be decided on the schedule’s closing day April 29 on the Black Wolves’ floor.

Georgia is ranked sixth on both offense and defense, which is slightly better than New England’s eighth in both.

TORONTO (6-6) at CALGARY (5-7) 9 p.m. ET

This is the Twitter game of the week.

It will be the second and last time these teams meet in the regular season. Calgary scored the last nine goals in winning 16-8 in Toronto on Feb. 3. Curtis Dickson scored four goals and Dane Dobbie and Riley Loewen got three each. The last time the Rock played in Calgary, they won 11-7 on Feb. 12, 2017.

Toronto is coming off a 14-9 win at New England, while Calgary edged Rochester 14-13 at home last Saturday. Toronto is ranked second on offense and third on defense. Calgary is seventh on offense and fifth on defense. Toronto is 3-2 on the road. Calgary is 4-3 at home.

VANCOUVER (1-12) at COLORADO (9-3) 9 p.m. ET

The 24 of John Grant Jr. will be retired during a pre-game ceremony.

Colorado has already defeated Vancouver three times _ 15-8, 14-12 and 13-10 _ and should sweep. The Mammoth are 4-2 at home. Vancouver is 1-6 on the road.

Colorado is ranked fifth on offense and first on defense, while Vancouver is last in both. Vancouver’s goals for-goals against differential is a league-worst minus 62. Compare that to Saskatchewan’s league best plus 53 to get an idea of how far the Stealth are back of the best.

ROCHESTER (6-7) at SASKATCHEWAN (11-2) 9:30 p.m.

This will be the second of two meetings. Cody Jamieson and Kyle Jackson scored four goals each when Rochester won 16-11 at home on Feb. 17. The last time the Knighthawks played in Saskatoon, they lost 16-8 on Jan. 21, 2017.

Rochester is coming off a 14-13 loss in Calgary. Saskatchewan won 16-10 in Buffalo last Friday. Rochester is ranked third on offense and fourth on defense. Saskatchewan is first on offense and second on defense.

Rochester is 2-4 on the road. Saskatchewan is 4-1 at home. These two teams have the best power plays with the Rush clicking 74.1 per cent of the time and Rochester second at 61.2 per cent.

Time Travel

March 20, 1993: The Buffalo Bandits became the first team to sell out every regular-season home game. They defeated the Detroit Turbos 20-14 in front of 16,325 spectators.

March 25, 2004: Gary Gait, scoring six goals in an 18-6 home victory over the San Jose Stealth, became the first player in league history with 1,000 points. A capacity crowd of 18,305 saw it happen in Denver’s Pepsi Center.