2023-24 NLL schedule analysis: byes, breaks, rests and repeats
Randy Staats, Halifax Thunderbirds (Photo: Trevor MacMillan)
The National Lacrosse League has released their 2023-24 regular season schedule, which included a significant switch to their standings format too, doing away with a West & East Conference and instead going to one unified league table.
The playoff structure also gets a bit of an adjustment with the first seed taking on the eighth-place finisher, second overall versus the seven seed, and so on. No more wild card and/or an East team essentially jumping into the West’s playoff picture, which honestly, was a mouthful to explain to a casual NLL viewer.
Typically used in soccer, rugby and other European sports, the unified standings are meant to cut back on some of that previously mentioned confusion. “The revamped standings, schedule and playoff formats provide a streamlined, easy-to-follow, and fiercely competitive method of determining our playoff teams and, ultimately, our champion,” said NLL Commissioner Brett Frood in Tuesday’s big announcement. “This also affords us flexibility in matching up teams to sustain lasting rivalries, create new ones, and maximize fan and partner engagement across the league.”
Last year, instead of battling in the 2023 NLL Finals, this new seeding structure would have had the Buffalo Bandits & Colorado Mammoth meeting in the opening round.
Although with far fewer teams than today’s 15, during the league’s first four years (1987-1990), unified standings were also used. In 1991, then known as the Major Indoor Lacrosse League, they split their six-team league in half forming a National & American Division. That lasted until 1995, when the league went back to no divisions and just a single standing for the next several seasons. The NLL has had a North, Central, East and West Division, and more recently stopped defining them as divisions but rather conferences (neither of which had divisions within them, which was weird, right?). After this week’s official announcement, we’re back to just the one league table, seemingly making things more straight forward for not only the teams, but the schedule maker as well.
Last year, we analyzed the 2022-23 NLL regular season schedule, only to find that some teams played significantly more stressful 18-game seasons than others. We took a very similar look at this year’s 21-week, 135-game NLL schedule while dicing up the following data:
Bye weeks – weekends teams don’t play
Longest break – the longest single stretch of no game play
Average rest – how many days on average each team gets to recuperate between games
2 in 1: how many weekends teams play twice in the same weekend
vs. non-playoff teams: how many games each team gets against teams that failed to make last year’s playoffs (Albany, Georgia, Las Vegas, New York, Philadelphia, Saskatchewan and Vancouver)
x2 – each team plays every team in the league once (14 games), then four teams an additional time (4 “flex” games) “…that preserve established rivalries and fan interest, showcase games with impactful storylines, and highlight star player matchups”
Friday/Saturday/Sunday – 60% of the season will be play on Saturdays, 30% on Fridays and 9% on Sundays
Before we take a closer look at each team’s upcoming regular season schedule, some general insights on the league schedule as a whole:
There are no Monday games (thank God!), but a higher percentage of Friday & Sunday games in comparison to last year, which obviously means fewer Saturday games as a result. No Thursday games either (again, thank God!), which has happened before.
Last year we also looked at non-conference games, which obviously is no longer a thing. While most team’s flex games include more traditional rivalries against teams they battled in their previous division or conference, a team like the Albany FireWolves plays most of their flex games against their old opposite division, which kind of leads into our next point…
Many of those flex games do check off the criteria the league described in Frood’s quote way above, but in a majority of those additional contests, teams are also playing opposition that, at least from the previous season, sat reasonably near them in the standings. Expected Cup contenders like Buffalo or Toronto see 2023 playoff teams in three of their four flex games, while former West Conference bottom two Last Vegas & Vancouver will only get a 2023 playoff qualifier once in those four extra games. Coincidence? Clearly not. The NLL loves the perception of parity.
The schedule in general is much tighter. For example, last year eleven teams in the league were forced to have stretches of no games over 20+ days, which feels and is a lot of days to be game-day inactive for a professional athlete. This year, only Calgary will be on the shelf for that long. The 2023-24 regular season also ends a week earlier (21 weeks instead of 22 with the final day happening on April 21 instead of April 29), which likely means one less week of overlap with the Premier Lacrosse League season, although playoff dates are TBA.
This week’s league announcement also confirmed that all games will be streamed on TSN+ and ESPN+, while, “The schedule of national broadcast games on TSN and ESPN linear networks will be announced soon.”
Like last year, the season will start on the East Coast when the Halifax Thunderbirds host the NLL’s season opener. A year ago, they smashed the Philadelphia Wings in Game 1. This year they’ll get the Saskatchewan Rush, one of four teams they’ll meet twice in 2024.
Below, see our breakdown of all 15 NLL teams and how their regular season sked stacks up against the rest of the league.
Doug Jamieson, Albany FireWolves
Albany FireWolves
Last year we felt Albany had one of the easier regular seasons across both conferences. This year they have it a bit tougher, especially getting Buffalo & Rochester twice to continue building their New York state series. The FireWolves’ 8.29 average rest days are tied with a few other teams for the league lead. Last year’s highest rest average was 8.71 days, the NLL’s new tighter schedule shrinking that number slightly too.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 15 days (x2)
Average rest: 8.29 days
2 in 1: 1 weekend
vs. non-playoff teams: 8 games
x2: Buffalo, Las Vegas, New York, Rochester
Friday games: 3
Saturday games: 13
Sunday games: 2
Buffalo Bandits
The defending champs flex games aren’t going to be easy. Buffalo went 14-4 during the 2023 regular season. Their only losses came against each of the teams in their flex four pack this year, with the Mammoth & Rock regularly giving them rough rides during the past two playoffs too.
Bye weeks: 3
Longest break: 13 days (x2)
Average rest: 7.82 days
2 in 1: 0 weekends
vs. non-playoff teams: 8 games
x2: Albany, Colorado, Rochester, Toronto
Friday: 7
Saturday: 11
Sunday: 0
Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits
Calgary Roughnecks
No team has more bye weeks than Calgary. No team has a single inactive stretch as long as Calgary will see. No team plays twice in a single weekend more than Calgary will this season. Plus, getting San Diego & Toronto an extra time isn’t overly appealing either. The Roughnecks got this year’s toughest schedule, hands down.
Bye weeks: 5
Longest break: 21 days
Average rest: 8.24 days
2 in 1: 2 weekends
vs. non-playoff teams: 9 games
x2: Philadelphia, Saskatchewan, San Diego, Toronto
Friday: 5
Saturday: 12
Sunday: 1
Colorado Mammoth
It’s arguably one of the modern games more meaningful rivalries, but if Colorado & Calgary will play more than once this year, it’ll have to be the playoffs. The Mammoth have been good during the past two regular seasons, but not great. Although they went all the way to the NLL Finals for the second straight season, they were the league’s lowest seed in 2023. Their schedule is fairly comparable to last year, where they got conference crossover matches against Buffalo & Georgia, who’ll they’ll play twice this year (but not Calgary, huh?).
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 14 days
Average rest: 7.82 days
2 in 1: 1 weekend
vs. non-playoff teams: 9 games
x2: Buffalo, Georgia, San Diego, Vancouver
Friday: 6
Saturday: 11
Sunday: 1
Brett Dobson, Georgia Swarm (Photo: Kyle Hess)
Georgia Swarm
Few regular season rivalries have been as hot over the past two seasons as Georgia vs. Philadelphia, but the two will only see one another once this upcoming season. No non-playoff team from last year has a more formidable flex than what the Swarm see. Their eleven games against teams that qualified for 2023’s postseason is a league high. Over the last month of the regular season, Georgia only plays twice, which might make peaking for the playoffs (if they qualify of course) a bit more difficult to do.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 13 days
Average rest: 7.76 days
2 in 1: 1 weekend
vs. non-playoff teams: 7 games
x2: Colorado, Panther City, Rochester, Vancouver
Friday: 7
Saturday: 9
Sunday: 2
Halifax Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds will get nailed with three bye weeks over the first two months of the season, not always ideal when you’re trying to reawaken last year’s chemistry. They won’t see a 2023 playoff team until Week 7 when the Rock invade their nest. Their meetings have become must-see matches in recent years, Halifax & Toronto also involved in heated playoff games over that time too. With their January 12th game just one of two contests at a Canadian area that weekend, don’t be surprised to see this one on televisions across the country.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 15 (x3)
Average rest: 8.29 days
2 in 1: 1 weekend
vs. non-playoff teams: 8 games
x2: Philadelphia, Rochester, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock
Friday: 9
Saturday: 8
Sunday: 1
Jack Hannah, Las Vegas Desert Dogs
Las Vegas Desert Dogs
Even though they’ll get the Seals in an unofficial Tsai Cup clash as one of their four flex games, the Desert Dogs’ regular season schedule is looking to be one of the league’s more lighter loads this winter. Clinching the franchise’s first postseason spot is obviously a goal for the second-year group, so you’d better believe those second games against both Panther City & Vancouver will be critical when calculating who extends their season. The worst part about their schedule: they get Colorado and then Buffalo in Weeks 20 & 21. Shit.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 15 days (x2)
Average rest: 8.29 days
2 in 1: 0 weekends
vs. non-playoff teams: 8 games
x2: Albany, Panther City, San Diego, Vancouver
Friday: 7
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 1
New York Riptide
Last year, we felt the Riptide had one of the more difficult schedules, especially to start the season where they were handed a number of demanding matches against top teams in December & January. Their schedule this year is a bit more forgiving, and probably about average when it comes to a 2024 difficulty rating. With just eleven wins over the past two seasons, if a first-ever playoff spot is in their future, they’ll need close to that win total over 18 this year to transition from pre-season hype to playoff-clinching facts.
Bye weeks: 3
Longest break: 14 days (x2)
Average rest: 8.24 days
2 in 1: 0 weekends
vs. non-playoff teams: 9 games
x2: Albany, Philadelphia, Saskatchewan, Toronto
Friday: 3
Saturday: 14
Sunday: 1
Jeff Teat, New York Riptide (Photo: Trevor MacMillan)
Panther City Lacrosse Club
Panther City’s ten games against non-playoff opponents from a season ago is a league high, so it’s not surprising to see San Diego being their only flex game against 2023 qualifiers. Over the first two months of their upcoming campaign, Toronto in Week 4 is their only match against a playoff team from last year. They were granted an extremely similar start last season. With that said, five bye weeks kinda sucks. So does two 2-in-1 weekends.
Bye weeks: 5
Longest break: 16 days
Average rest: 8.29 days
2 in 1: 2 weekends
vs. non-playoff teams: 10 games
x2: Georgia, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, San Diego
Friday: 7
Saturday: 5
Sunday: 6
Philadelphia Wings
We concluded that Philadelphia had the most difficult schedule last year. This season, the schedule maker (and probably their arena availability) wasn’t as harsh with the Wings. Getting Calgary twice in their flex games seems weird considering the teams have only ever played just twice during the regular season (both times in 2019), but maybe there’s a rivalry brewing there? The Wings & Swarm play last year’s playoff teams more than anyone else in 2024. Still though, it’s better than what they had in 2023.
Bye weeks: 3
Longest break: 14 days (x2)
Average rest: 8.29 days
2 in 1: 0 weekends
vs. non-playoff teams: 7 games
x2: Calgary, Halifax, New York, Panther City
Friday: 4
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 4
Rylan Rees, Rochester Knighthawks (Photo: Micheline Veluvolu)
Rochester Knighthawks
Outside of four stretches of 14+ days of inactivity, the Knighthawks schedule doesn’t seem too bad. Most of their bye weeks are jammed up in the first three months of the season. Rochester’s only twofer comes in the final week of the regular season, when they play in Georgia on Friday and host Philly on Sunday. Even though the NLL conference system is squashed, it feels like those last-weekend results could be pretty pivotal in qualifying for the playoffs.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 15 days (+14 days x3)
Average rest: 8.29 days
2 in 1: 1 weekend
vs. non-playoff teams: 9 games
x2: Albany, Buffalo, Georgia, Halifax
Friday: 2
Saturday: 14
Sunday: 2
San Diego Seals
In 2022, no team saw fewer playoff qualifiers than the Seals, who were also treated to a triple against the expansion Desert Dogs. This year, their schedule seems a bit tougher for sure. During the upcoming season, like most everyone else, they’ll see Buffalo, Toronto, Halifax and Rochester four times (well, once each). Critics of the NLL’s conference system, which was obviously heavy on inter-conference matches, felt the West’s top teams were not being tested enough during the regular season (it was the opposite not that many years ago). Were they right? Well, we should find out soon enough.
Bye weeks: 5
Longest break: 14 days
Average rest: 7.76 days
2 in 1: 2 weekends
vs. non-playoff teams: 8 games
x2: Calgary, Colorado, Las Vegas, Panther City
Friday: 7
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 1
Curtis Dickson, San Diego Seals (Photo: John Harrison)
Saskatchewan Rush
How will the league’s new unified approach impact a team like the Rush? Over the past two years, Saskatchewan is just 1-4 against teams from the East Conference, last year dropping both of their opposite-conference results to Halifax & Georgia. Those losses are ultimately what exited them from postseason contention. Although their longest break this year will see them on the sidelines for 16 straight days, the Rush will also see significant inactive stretches of 14 (x2), 13 and 12 days too. Their schedule definitely isn’t the most difficult this year, but it’s far from the easiest either.
Bye weeks: 5
Longest break: 16 days
Average rest: 8.29 days
2 in 1: 2 weekends
vs. non-playoff teams: 8 games
x2: Calgary, Halifax, New York, Vancouver
Friday: 4
Saturday: 12
Sunday: 2
Toronto Rock
The big schedule-realted news for the Rock came a few weeks earlier when the team confirmed that (even more) construction delays would allow them to play their entire 2023-24 season in Hamilton at the FirstOntario Centre after it appeared Mississauga was next. Toronto has thrived in their new home over the past two seasons, going 15-3 at the FOC, including a league best 8-1 home record during the regular season in 2023. During Week 14, they’ll be far from home however, playing away in Vegas on Friday night, then just 24 hours later in San Diego for a date with the Seals, who’ll be flying in from Fort Worth. Get your calendar out and circle March 2, 2024. Trust us.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 14 days
Average rest: 7.82 days
2 in 1: 1 weekend
vs. non-playoff teams: 8 games
x2: Buffalo, Calgary, Halifax, New York
Friday: 3
Saturday: 15
Sunday: 0
TD Ierlan, Toronto Rock (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
Vancouver Warriors
Last year, Vancouver started with a lot of away game, plus a lot of early games against top-tier teams. The Warriors were 1-9 come mid February. They’ll get more home dates sooner, but still see stiff competition early. January 24th will be the only time Vancouver sees Calgary during the regular season. Former West Conference rivals (geographically lately at least), with everything that’s gone between those two teams over the offseason (check our transaction tracker to get a taste), it’s a shame we didn’t get an extra fixture in their flex pack. Maybe in the playoffs? The Warriors will need to get there first. Since the franchise moved to British Columbia in 2014, they’ve qualified for the postseason just once - a first round exit in 2017.
Bye weeks: 3
Longest break: 15 days
Average rest: 8.24 days
2 in 1: 0 weekends
vs. non-playoff teams: 9 games
x2: Colorado, Georgia, Las Vegas, Saskatchewan
Friday: 8
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 0
Ried Bowering, Vancouver Warriors (Photo: Jordan Leigh)