Buffalo Bandits


The Buffalo Bandits are an American professional box lacrosse team based in Buffalo, New York, that competes in the National Lacrosse League. The team plays its home games at KeyBank Center. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, then in its successor the NLL since 1998. The Bandits are one of the oldest franchises in the league, behind the Oshawa FireWolves and the Colorado Mammoth. The Bandits are the oldest franchise still playing in their original city and are the most successful team in the league, holding the record for most league titles at 7.
The Bandits are owned by Hockey Western New York LLC, led by Terry Pegula who also owns the Rochester Americans, Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills.

History

The Bandits played their first season in 1992. They played home games at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium sharing with the Buffalo Sabres until its closure in 1996.
The Bandits became the first expansion franchise in MILL/NLL history to win a championship in its first season. The Bandits repeated as champions in their second season, compiling the league's only perfect season to date that year, lost the championship game their third season and captured their third Championship in 1996, their fifth season. It was not until 1999, their eighth season, that the Bandits did not make the playoffs.
After their 1996 championship-winning season, the Bandits returned to the NLL Championship game on three separate occasions only to lose each time, including twice at home. It would not be until 2008 that the Bandits would win their elusive fourth championship, a 14–13 triumph over Portland. The Bandits would lose the finals three more times before securing their fifth championship in 2023. The Bandits won their fifth title against the Colorado Mammoth winning the third and final game of the three game series 13–4. The following year, the Bandits repeated as champions, winning their sixth title in a sweep of the Albany FireWolves. The Bandits secured a third-straight championship in 2025, their 7th overall and most in the NLL all-time, as well as one of only seven top-level professional North American sports teams to achieve the feat of a "three-peat."
As of 2025, Buffalo is the longest tenured team in the NLL, in terms of continuous years in their home city, at 33 seasons. The team is also the strongest-attended franchise in the league, with an average attendance of over 18,000 fans per game in 2025, an NLL record and substantially outdrawing its NHL counterpart, the Sabres.

Awards and honors

YearPlayerAward
1992Derek KeenanRookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year]
1992John TavaresChampionship Game MVP
1993John TavaresChampionship Game MVP
1994John TavaresMost Valuable Player
1996Pat O'TooleChampionship Game MVP
2000John TavaresMost Valuable Player
2001John TavaresMost Valuable Player
2003Darris KilgourCoach of the Year
2003Kurt SilcottGM of the Year Award|GM of the Year]
2005Steve DietrichGoaltender of the Year Award|Goaltender of the Year]
2006Steve DietrichGoaltender of the Year
2006Steve DietrichMost Valuable Player
2007Dave ZygajExecutive of the Year Award|Executive of the Year]
2008Mark SteenhuisTransition Player of the Year Award|Transition Player of the Year]
2008Mark SteenhuisChampion's Cup MVP
2009Billy Dee SmithDefensive Player of the Year Award|Defensive Player of the Year]
2009Ken MontourGoaltender of the Year
2016Steve DietrichGM of the Year
2016Dhane SmithMost Valuable Player
2018Craig EnglandTeammate of the Year Award|Teammate of the Year]
2019Matt VincGoaltender of the Year
2019John Tavares/Rich KilgourCoach of the Year
2019Steve DietrichGM of the Year
2022Matt VincGoaltender of the Year
2022Steve DietrichGM of the Year
2022Dhane SmithMost Valuable Player
2023Dhane SmithNLL Finals MVP
2024Josh ByrneOffensive Player of the Year
2024Josh ByrneMost Valuable Player
2024Josh ByrneNLL Finals MVP
2025John GurtlerMedia Person of the Year
2025Kyle BuchananSportsmanship Award
2025Dhane SmithOffensive Player of the Year
2025Ian MacKayNLL Finals MVP

NLL Hall of Fame members

NLL records

Single-game record holders

Season record holders

  • Most points in a single season – Dhane Smith
  • Most goals in a single season – Dhane Smith
  • Most assists in a single season – Dhane Smith

All-time record holders

  • Most goals in a career – John Tavares
  • Most assists in a career – John Tavares
  • Most points in a career – John Tavares
  • Most saves in a career – Matt Vinc
  • Most wins in a career – Matt Vinc
  • Most minutes played – Matt Vinc

NLL All-Star Game

* – voted as starter

Draft history

NLL Entry Draft

First Round Selections

NLL Dispersal Draft

NLL Expansion Draft

Retired numbers

The Bandits have four retired numbers, three of which are represented at the Arena in the rafters with the Championship banners.

Game broadcasts

Buffalo Bandits games can be heard on Buffalo's Audacy stations, either WGR 550 AM or WWKB 1520 AM. John Gurtler, former play-by-play man for the Buffalo Sabres, handles announcing duties, while former Bandit Randy Mearns handles color commentary. During its existence from 2010 to 2021, Seneca Nation-owned WGWE in Little Valley simulcast Bandits games in the Southern Tier.
All games are broadcast on ESPN+. Select games can be found nationally on ESPN Linear Networks, and locally on WNLO CW23. The Bandits are a strong television draw for WNLO, outrating the CW programming that usually airs in prime time on that network.