The New York Atlas released four-time All-Star Eric Law to the player pool on Tuesday, ending the former captain's near six-season tenure with the team.

In that time, Law, 33, accumulated 117 points (80G, 37A) in 43 games played for the Atlas as an elite off-ball mover and finisher on the doorstep. His refusal to sit still and ability to find the small, open lanes set him apart as a trusted and efficient veteran.

Last season, Law posted 27 points, 22 of which were goals, and he met net in 25 straight games played from 2021 to 2023. In 2022, Law and Jeff Teat connected for 11 goals, which was the most by any duo in the league.

Law’s release follows a young wave of talent on the Atlas that is clicking offensively. Teat operates as QB1 while Xander Dickson has taken over as the primary off-ball mover and scorer. Connor Shellenberger can score or assist depending on what’s unfolding in front of him, and the team also has the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer, Payton Cormier, rostered. Add in the points the midfield has contributed, especially within the short clock after a won faceoff, and there’s just not much room left for Law to cement his standing on a New York team that sits at 5-1 with a PLL-best +28 score differential. 

One of Law’s intangibles that will surely be missed is his leadership. As a former captain of both the Atlas and Denver Outlaws in Major League Lacrosse, Law acts as a friend, player and coach in one. He received the Dave Huntley Sportsmanship Award in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022.

Dickson said Law’s presence and impact during Dickson’s rookie season in 2023 was “huge.”

“I mean we’re so similar. It’s funny, in practices we’ll be doing the exact same cut in the exact same spot and kind of be on top of each other and we kind of laugh like one of us has to think differently we’re doing the same thing,” Dickson told The Lacrosse Network in June.

“Talking with him and understanding the off-ball position the way he does and having somebody else who is so into playing that role was really nice to be able to throw ideas off of and learn from.”

The Atlas activated Law to the 25-man roster Monday in order to release him. Law has not yet played a game this season.

Law joined the Atlas from the MLL in 2019, previously playing the first six years of his career with the Outlaws and winning three championships with them.

Law played at the University of Denver and grew up in the nearby town of Centennial. His work with Denver City Lax, which aims to create opportunities through lacrosse in underserved neighborhoods, earned him the Welles Crowther Humanitarian Award last season.

When the Atlas played in front of Law’s hometown crowd at Denver’s Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in 2023, it was “awesome,” he said then. 

“It’s tough to put into words what this stadium, what this state, what this city and lacrosse mean to me," Law said. "... You never know how many more times you get to play here, so it’s special.”

The Atlas filled Law's roster spot by signing attack/midfielder Logan McGovern, an undrafted rookie out of North Carolina, to a one-year contract. McGovern tallied 25 goals and 29 assists in 14 games for the Tar Heels last season.