Following a new collective bargaining agreement announced by the National Lacrosse League (NLL) on October 20, the Buffalo Bandits experienced a busy offseason as they prepare for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
The Bandits will bring back many players from their championship-winning core. Key returnees include former MVPs Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne, captain and defenseman Steve Priolo, reigning NLL Finals MVP Ian MacKay, and eight-time NLL Goaltender of the Year Matt Vinc, who signed a one-year contract extension.
“What excites me is Matt Vinc between the pipes gives us a great opportunity to win every night,” Smith said. “Super excited to see a lot of familiar faces and bring our core group back. Obviously, it’s a business and guys you lose every year, but you bring in these new guys, and there’s a lot of great young talent here, so I’m excited to see what they got.”
The team aims to become the first in league history to win four consecutive NLL Cups after securing their third straight title in May with a victory over the Saskatchewan Rush.
“It’s not going to get any easier,” Smith said. “I know everybody’s talking about dynasties or four-peats or whatever it may be, and it’s gonna be a huge challenge. Every year it’s been that much harder, and this year is gonna be even bigger.”
Training camp began on November 1 in Brampton, Ontario. The Bandits returned to KeyBank Center for media day on November 15. The season will start with Banner Raising Night at KeyBank Center on November 29 against the Georgia Swarm.
During the offseason, forwards Chase Fraser and Chris Cloutier left Buffalo for the Las Vegas Desert Dogs. Last season, Fraser scored 26 goals with 24 assists while Cloutier added 17 goals and 20 assists; together they accounted for nearly 18 percent of last season’s total goals for Buffalo. Their departure represents about 14 percent of total point production lost from last year. Both players are scheduled to return as opponents when Las Vegas visits Buffalo on January 3.
Veteran defenseman Justin Martin also retired after an eight-year career with the Bandits.
To fill roster gaps, Buffalo signed forward Ryan Benesch to a one-year deal on October 28 and acquired forward Mike Triolo from Saskatchewan in exchange for a future draft pick on October 24. Benesch previously played four seasons with Buffalo from 2014 to 2017 and ranks among league leaders in career goals (fourth all-time) and points (fifth all-time). He considered retiring after last season but was convinced to return following discussions with general manager Steve Dietrich.
“It’s amazing,” Benesch said about being back in Buffalo. “Honestly, if Chugger didn’t call me, I probably wouldn’t have played.”
Benesch returns seeking his first championship title in his long career.
“Benny’s just a proven vet, he’s a future Hall of Famer,” MacKay said. “… He’s done it all but win a championship. Coming back to Buffalo and the culture we’ve built here since he’s been gone, he fits right into what we’re doing.”
Triolo was originally drafted by Buffalo in 2015 before playing two seasons with Saskatchewan. He posted career-high numbers recently and brings size along with playmaking ability.
“There’s unbelievable pressure as a new person coming into a clearly winning organization that knows everything they need to do to win,” Triolo said. “And honestly, it’s the pressure of just trying to find my piece in it. I’m not trying to do too much or too little but just finding what I can do and help the team in that way.”
On November 26 at 3 p.m., Buffalo re-acquired defenseman Mitch de Snoo from Philadelphia for conditional draft picks; de Snoo had previously played five seasons with Buffalo before earning Defensive Player of the Year honors elsewhere.
The team will also look internally for players such as Clay Scanlan and Lukas Nielsen—a recent first-round pick—to take larger roles this season as they aim to replace some offensive production lost during the offseason.
