2024-25 NLL schedule analysis: byes, breaks, rests and repeats
Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado (Photo: John Harrison)
The National Lacrosse League recently released their 2024-25 regular season schedule, their first games taking place on Friday, November 29 in both Ottawa, Ontario and Denver, Colorado.
It will be the NLL’s first time back in Ottawa in over two decades when the Black Bears, who relocated from Long Island (New York Riptide) over the offseason, take on the Toronto Rock at the Canadian Tire Centre in city’s suburb of Stittsville.
In fact, the Canadian Tire Centre will be one of three new arenas in the NLL this year, all due to either long or short-term relocation plans.
In addition to the Riptide leaving Uniondale, the Rock will be in Mississauga’s Paramount Fine Foods Centre while major renovations continue at the FireOntario Centre in Hamilton, and the Las Vegas Desert Dogs are now 20 minutes west of their previous home in Paradise, setting up permanent shop in Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson.
It’s a lot of movement for a season with no expansion.
Actually, the league lost a team when the Panther City Lacrosse Club shut down operations last month, dropping the NLL back down to 14 active franchises.
What impact did that frantic franchise fluctuation have on this year’s schedule? Well…
In The Lax Mag’s annual schedule analysis, we crack into the following criteria while reviewing each team’s 18-game regular season schedule:
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, which includes (we know, all of them are much improved and will all unquestionably make the playoffs or win it all this year, but still…): Ottawa, Saskatchewan, Calgary, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Colorado
x2 – each team plays every team in the league once (13 games), then five teams an additional time (previously described as flex games by the league) “…that preserve established rivalries and fan interest, showcase games with impactful storylines, and highlight star player matchups”
Friday/Saturday/Sunday – 62% of the season will be played on Saturdays, 31% on Fridays and 7% on Sundays, which is an almost identical daily ratio to last year
For the second straight year, there are thankfully no Monday or Thursday games, two nights that generally don’t draw well for any team. Also like last year, the season ends a week earlier than it had for several seasons prior, which will again hopefully avoid any schedule crossover with the Premier Lacrosse League.
Below, see our breakdown of all 14 NLL teams and how their regular season sked stacks up against the rest of the league.
Tye Kurtz, Albany FireWolves (Photo: Maggie Kelly)
Albany FireWolves
Outside of seeing Buffalo and San Diego twice, most teams in the league are likely a bit envious of Albany’s schedule. They only have three bye weeks (tied for the fewest), and they’re nicely spaced out. More than half of their schedule is against teams that did not make last year’s playoffs, those ten games tied for the most in the NLL for that category. They also have a pretty balanced back and forth between home and away stretches. Plus, they’re one of only six teams who won’t be required to play twice in a single weekend this year.
Bye weeks: 3
Longest break: 14 (x2)
Average rest: 8.18
2 in 1: 0
vs. non-playoff teams: 10
x2: Buffalo, Colorado, Philadelphia, San Diego, Saskatchewan
Friday games: 3
Saturday games: 15
Sunday games: 0
Buffalo Bandits
As one might expect, the defending champ’s schedule is arguably one of the tougher ones this year. They won’t play in Week 1, and then have four additional bye weeks heading into Week 12. While you could argue that will give some of their stars that played a lot of lacrosse this past summer (WLBC, PLL and/or Senior A) plenty of time to recover, it also makes it difficult to get dialled for another title defence. Their flex games are almost all against last year’s playoff makers, outside of a mid-March clash with Calgary. The Bandits are also one of only two teams required to play two times in one weekend twice this winter, and one of those weekends will see them against Toronto and San Diego.
Bye weeks: 5
Longest break: 15
Average rest: 7.82
2 in 1: 2
vs. non-playoff teams: 8
x2: Albany, Calgary, Rochester, San Diego, Toronto
Friday games: 4
Saturday games: 14
Sunday games: 0
Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta (Photo: Jenn Pierce)
Calgary Roughnecks
Over the first seven weeks of the season, Calgary will have only played four times, and just one of those games will be at home. They are one of only two teams that have weekends with two games to play, including a pair against Las Vegas and Colorado during the last weekend of the regular season. Although they get Buffalo twice, the rest of their flex-pack action comes against 2024’s non-playoff teams. Their 7.82 rest days are below the league average (8.11). While they get a bit of a break in potentially perceived easier competition, the rest of their criteria rankings isn’t overly desirable.
Bye weeks: 5
Longest break: 14 (x3)
Average rest: 7.82
2 in 1: 2
vs. non-playoff teams: 10
x2: Buffalo, Colorado, Las Vegas, Saskatchewan, Vancouver
Friday games: 6
Saturday games: 11
Sunday games: 1
Colorado Mammoth
While they do play last year’s finalists, the FireWolves, twice, the rest of the Mammoth’s schedule isn’t too bad. They get only one bye week over the first eleven weeks of the season, play four of their first six at home, and seven of their final eight games are against teams that did not make the playoffs last year. The competition is stiff through the middle of the year, but with a league co-leading high of 8.29 rest days between games on average, they’ll have time to heal up more than most. Three Sunday games kinda sucks though.
Bye weeks: 3
Longest break: 14 (x2)
Average rest: 8.29
2 in 1: 0
vs. non-playoff teams: 9
x2: Albany, Calgary, Georgia, Las Vegas, Saskatchewan
Friday games: 5
Saturday games: 10
Sunday games: 3
Andrew Kew, Georgia Swarm (Photo: Kyle Hess)
Georgia Swarm
The Swarm will see just three bye weekends - one of them in straight away in Week 1. Their last bye weekend is Week 12, which means they’ll have plenty of time to build momentum heading into the playoffs, which seems likely after last year’s strong season, probably their strongest since the pandemic. Three of their final four games are at home too, which is kinda nice. Outside of their flex games being against some likely Cup contenders in Toronto and San Diego, Georgia’s relatively balanced schedule isn’t too shabby.
Bye weeks: 3
Longest break: 15
Average rest: 7.82
2 in 1: 0
vs. non-playoff teams: 10
x2: Colorado, Ottawa, Philadelphia, San Diego, Toronto
Friday games: 3
Saturday games: 13
Sunday games: 2
Halifax Thunderbirds
Halifax’s 7.87 rest day average is the lowest in the league, and a significant enough drop off from 2024’s 8.29 days. While their ten games against last year’s non-playoff teams is a league co-leading high, closing out against San Diego, Buffalo and bitter rival Toronto is a regular-season conclusion most teams would probably pass on. Our schedule-analysing criteria has the Thunderbirds kind of in the middle of the league when grading their 18-game difficulty level: comme ci, comme ça.
Bye weeks: 3
Longest break: 14
Average rest: 7.76
2 in 1: 0
vs. non-playoff teams: 10
x2: Ottawa, Philadelphia, Rochester, Saskatchewan, Toronto
Friday games: 6
Saturday games: 11
Sunday games: 1
Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Photo: James Bennett)
Las Vegas Desert Dogs
The Desert Dogs numbers below rank almost exactly average in every instance, although their single 16-day stretch of no game play between March 21 and April 6 is the longest in the league this year (Calgary had the lengthiest last year at 21 days of inactivity). Like just mentioned for Halifax above, Las Vegas also has a three-week run against San Diego, Buffalo and Toronto, also near the end of their season. Overall though, it’s a pretty average sked for the now third-year franchise, who are desperately looking to make the playoffs in 2025.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 16
Average rest: 8.18
2 in 1: 1
vs. non-playoff teams: 9
x2: Calgary, Colorado, Philadelphia, Rochester, San Diego
Friday games: 7
Saturday games: 8
Sunday games: 3
Ottawa Black Bears
In 2022, we felt this franchise had probably the toughest schedule of any team. Last year, their load got a bit lighter. In 2025, their schedule is back to being a bit of a bitch. The start of the Black Bears season might be what is most problematic. Their first four opponents are: Toronto, Buffalo, Toronto again, and San Diego. No one opens with a more difficult first four. While they will play twice at home in front of their new fans in Canada’s capital, they’ll also see a 35-day stretch where they’re either playing away from the Canadian Tire Centre or not playing at all. Not only will that start make it difficult to find standings success early on (a position they’ve been in before), from a business standpoint, a potential early piss poor record and more than a month of no home dates, could make for a frustrating first attempt at building fan interest.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 15 (x3)
Average rest: 8.29
2 in 1: 1
vs. non-playoff teams: 7
x2: Georgia, Halifax, Rochester, Toronto, Vancouver
Friday games: 10
Saturday games: 7
Sunday games: 1
Blaze Riorden, Philadelphia Wings
Philadelphia Wings
The Wings likely have one of this year’s more desirable schedules when it comes to balance, competition and recovery. While two Sundays would probably suck for most, that’s half as many Sunday games the team was forced to play in 2024. Yes, they do play an above average amount of playoff qualifiers from last season, but avoid the likes of seeing Buffalo, Toronto and Rochester twice (or more) like they would have in the old Eastern Division days. If the Wings miss the playoffs for a fifth (full) season in 2025, the league’s schedule maker should be safe from any social media backlash.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 14 (x2)
Average rest: 8.18
2 in 1: 1
vs. non-playoff teams: 8
x2: Albany, Georgia, Halifax, Las Vegas, Vancouver
Friday games: 2
Saturday games: 14
Sunday games: 2
Rochester Knighthawks
The Lax Mag is declaring the Rochester Knighthawks as having this year’s most advantageous (we didn’t want to use the word easiest, but guess we just did) schedule of the 2024-25 season. Why? We get it, there are no easy games in the NLL due to parity (although recent records would indicate there actually are easier games, but that’s data for another date), but outside of getting the two-time defending champion Bandits twice, Rochester’s flex games are fairly favourable, at least right now. They have fewer bye weeks than most, have one of the highest recovery day averages, don’t play a single double in any weekend, play more desirable Saturday dates than any other team (well, tied with Albany), and don’t get a single shitty Sunday all season. Their last month has two byes and some tough match ups, but otherwise, there’s not much not to like.
Bye weeks: 3
Longest break: 14 (x3)
Average rest: 8.24
2 in 1: 0
vs. non-playoff teams: 10
x2: Buffalo, Halifax, Las Vegas, Ottawa, Saskatchewan
Friday games: 3
Saturday games: 15
Sunday games: 0
Kyle Rubisch, San Diego Seals (Photo: Kalea Vizmanos)
San Diego Seals
It was sad not to see a second game on this year’s regular season schedule between the Seals and Mammoth - one of the better NLL rivalries in recent years - San Diego instead getting an East-heavy flex pack that could prove problematic. Other than that, the rest of their schedule-reviewing criteria is pretty par if not birdie good when it comes to their 18-game difficultly grade.
Bye weeks: 3
Longest break: 14 (x2)
Average rest: 8.12
2 in 1: 0
vs. non-playoff teams: 9
x2: Albany, Buffalo, Georgia, Las Vegas, Vancouver
Friday games: 4
Saturday games: 12
Sunday games: 2
Saskatchewan Rush
There’s nothing especially bad about Saskatchewan’s season schedule, and not much that ranks super high when it comes to our criteria either. After again missing the playoffs last year, the Rush have not been to the postseason since 2019. If they hope to get back there, they’ll need a better start than last year’s 1-4 foray, which included three home losses. The first third of their season is arguably their most difficult six-game stretch: at Albany, vs. Halifax, at Rochester, vs. Philadelphia, vs. Las Vegas and at Toronto. The Sasktel Centre used to be one of the more difficult barns for the opposition to win in. The Rush need to reestablish that rep.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 15
Average rest: 8.24
2 in 1: 1
vs. non-playoff teams: 8
x2: Albany, Calgary, Colorado, Halifax, Rochester
Friday games: 4
Saturday games: 13
Sunday games: 1
Sasktel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Toronto Rock
Toronto’s schedule is very middle of the pack when comparing to the data against the rest of the league in each of our areas of analysis, but one thing really jumps out when comparing their 2024-25 schedule against other recent ones: game day dates. Since moving to Hamilton from Toronto, the Rock have played a vast majority of the past two seasons on Saturday (away games too), the day most players usually seem to prefer. Over the previous two years, Toronto has played 31 of their 36 regular season games on Saturday nights, the highest total of any team. Well, this year that changes. The Rock get eight Fridays and even an undesirable Sunday in Henderson during their upcoming 18-game schedule.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 15
Average rest: 8.29
2 in 1: 1
vs. non-playoff teams: 9
x2: Buffalo, Georgia, Halifax, Ottawa, Vancouver
Friday games: 8
Saturday games: 9
Sunday games: 1
Vancouver Warriors
The Warriors rank reasonably high in a handful of our criteria, but it’s hard to get too excited after looking at the first seven weeks of their season. Vancouver will get byes in Week 2, 4 and 6, a sporadic start most teams usually desperately want to avoid (unless you’re dealing with injuries). While the competition is creating consistency and a potential streak of early success, the Warriors will be forced to watch much of the first two months of the upcoming season on TSN+ streams (no, we haven’t heard anything). While their schedule is balanced when it comes to playing last year’s playoff teams and non-qualifiers, most of their games against 2024’s higher ranked teams are jammed up in the second half of their season. If Vancouver fails to start strong, March and April doesn’t do them any favours if they’re trying to cue a comeback.
Bye weeks: 4
Longest break: 15
Average rest: 8.29
2 in 1: 1
vs. non-playoff teams: 9
x2: Calgary, Ottawa, Philadelphia, San Diego, Toronto
Friday games: 13
Saturday games: 5
Sunday games: 0
Keegan Bal, Vancouver Warriors (Photo: Jordan Leigh)