11 Reasons to Watch the National Lacrosse League in 2023-24

The National Lacrosse League is set to return for its 37th season tonight, with five games on the docket for opening weekend. It all begins with Saskatchewan at Halifax at 7 p.m. Eastern.

In preparation for the upcoming campaign, here are 11 reasons to tune in to the action inside the box this winter.

1. The new unified standings.

The NLL revamped its league format for 2023-24, doing away with East and West to create one unified league. Now, each team plays every other team once, in addition to four “flex” games that preserve established rivalries and fan interest.

The adjustment gets us closer to the real top eight teams making the postseason and allows fans to see teams they rarely matched up against in years past. It also opens the door to a potential rivalry matchup in the championship game. Imagine Toronto and Buffalo or Calgary and Colorado duking it out with hardware on the line.

2. The Bandits’ attempt to start a dynasty.

After falling in the NLL Finals two straight seasons, Buffalo finally got over the hump for its first championship since 2008. The Bandits are dealing with injuries on the back end but have largely run it back with the same roster, led by the likes of Dhane Smith, Josh Byrne, Matt Vinc, Steve Priolo and Ian MacKay. Now that the weight is lifted, can the Bandits further add to their trophy case?

3. It’s still easy to watch on ESPN and TSN, no matter where you are.

In the United States, every NLL game is available to stream through ESPN+, with 10 additional games airing on linear networks. The American TV slate begins Dec. 2 when Philadelphia and New York battle on ESPN2.

4. A golden era of Americans in the NLL.

Three Americans surpassed 100 points last season — Tom Schreiber, Connor Fields and Joe Resetarits — with Schreiber leading the bunch with 116. Jack Hannah was named a finalist for Rookie of the Year after a stellar debut with the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, and four of the top five faceoff specialists are from the States.

While some American stars stepped away from the NLL this winter, field fans will recognize names like Blaze Riorden, Trevor Baptiste, Danny Logan, TD Ierlan, Ryan Terefenko, Joe Nardella, Connor Kelly, Liam Byrnes and Colin, Cole and Connor Kirst.

5. History chasing.

Dhane Smith’s single-season record of 137 points was under siege last season by a pair of players, including Smith himself. The Bandit great finished just a point short of matching his all-time best, with New York’s Jeff Teat close behind him at 132. They’re expected to go toe-to-toe atop the scoring chart again this year, but don’t doubt Mitch Jones joining in on the fun. His points-per-game pace following a trade to Philadelphia would have equaled 136 across an 18-game season.

6. Toronto’s attempts to match Buffalo.

No one in the Rock organization is content with the Bandits’ recent perch atop the East, especially after Buffalo ended Toronto’s season two years in a row. Mark Matthews, Chris Boushy and Dan Lintner were brought in to bring a new look to the offense, though Tom Schreiber starting the year on injured reserve clouds that unit.

Last season’s defensive player of the year, Latrell Harris, is also out for the season. Does Toronto have enough to make its first NLL Finals since 2015?

7. Christian del Bianco’s encore.

Calgary’s stellar netminder just won his first Goalie of the Year honor and became the first goalie since Steve Dietrich to win Most Valuable Player. He led all starters in save percentage and was second in goals against average in addition to being a major transition starter. He was the only goalie in the league to record double-digit assists with 10. Could this be the start of the long reign of del Bianco?

8. A new look Vancouver Warriors.

One of the league’s struggling franchises got a major remodel in the offseason, starting with the addition of 2023 NLL Coach of the Year Curt Malawsky. The man affectionately known as Mouse brought in established veterans like Matt Beers, Kevin Crowley and Ryan Dilks and has impressive young talent to work with like Reid Bowering, Owen Grant and Adam Charalambides.

Is it all enough to get the Warriors to the postseason for the first time since 2017?

9. The NLL’s new partnership with Marvel.

On Nov. 30, the league announced a new, multi-year program with comic book titan Marvel focused on honoring and popularizing lacrosse’s Indigenous origin story with game-specific promotions. Each team will have a Marvel superhero night, starting with New York and Vancouver on Feb. 10. A custom comic book will be exclusively available at each of these themed games.

10. A highly competitive rookie of the year race.

Three candidates stand out when projecting the top newcomers, including former Rochester first-overall pick Thomas McConvey. But don’t doubt Las Vegas’ Dylan Watson and Vancouver’s Owen Grant. Also set to make a name for themselves are Albany’s Alex Simmons, Panther City’s Jason Knox and Ryan Sheridan and Vancouver’s Brayden Laity.

11. The NLL’s return to Quebec.

As part of the league’s new UnBOXed initiative, the league is hosting a matchup between Toronto and New York on Feb. 16 at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec. It will mark the first regular-season game played in the province since 2002, when the Montréal Express played their final game at the then-Molson Centre.

The game will be nationally broadcasted on TSN throughout Canada, with French-language coverage available on RDS. ESPN+ will stream the game in the U.S.