Less than two weeks ago, Buffalo Bandits General Manager Steve Dietrich announced that the franchise had given three-year contracts to forward Ryan Benesch and transition/forward Dhane Smith.
The true importance of this specific announcement was the underlying message to the fans in Banditland and the rest of the NLL that the team was securing their immediate future during a very critical time in the franchise. At the current moment, Bandits captain John Tavares is 46 years old and recently decided on signing another one year contract with the team. Bandits assistant captain Shawn Williams earlier this year turned 40 years old as well. While their lacrosse IQ is outstanding, the physical toll of playing in the fall with the NLL and in the summer with Major Series Lacrosse has definitely taken its toll on their bodies.
While both of these players still possess an incredible scoring touch and amazing ability to find the open man with the ball, their offensive output is just not keeping up with the best of the NLL. Tavares 80 point season of 2012 now dwarfs his injury plagued 2013 season of 39 points in 12 games and an extended 18 game 2014 season which resulted in Tavares tallying 51 points in 16 games.
Williams also has seen his share of offensive output troubles. During the 2011 season with the Rochester Knighthawks, Williams recorded 77 points in 16 games. Unfortunately for Williams, his point totals have steadily declined over the next three seasons. In his 2012 with the Edmonton Rush, Williams recorded 68 points while his next two seasons with the Bandits in 2013 and 2014 saw Williams output drop to 65 points and 49 points respectively.
The other side of this coin is that while Tavares and Williams have been dealing with their offensive struggles, the offensive capabilities in the duo of Benesch and Smith are just heating up.
In 2012 when the Bandits selected Smith with the fifth overall selection, little did the Bandits know of the dual threat that Smith would become. In his rookie season with the Bandits, Smith scored a team-high 24 goals and finished fifth in rookie scoring with 44 points in 15 games leading into him making the 2013 NLL All- Rookie team. In his sophomore season with the Bandits, Smith made the switch from forward to transition and finished with 59 points (20 goals and 39 assists) in 18 games which ranked him third on the team. The 2014 regular season also saw Smith rank third on the Bandits in shots on goal (111) and fifth in loose balls (79).
While bringing in someone with the youth of Smith, the Bandits also needed to bring in a special player with the experience and lacrosse IQ to help mentor the younger players and help flourish their game. In 2014 the Buffalo Bandits did just that by trading for forward Ryan Benesch from Minnesota.
In his first season with the Bandits, Benesch led the entire team in scoring with 78 points (25 goals and 53 assists) in 18 games. Benesch also finished near the top of the Bandits leader boards in the categories of power play goals (second with 7), shorthanded goals (tied for first with 3), loose balls (fourth with 88) and shots on goal (second with 124).
The biggest challenge for the Buffalo Bandits coming up during the next three years of the Benesch/Smith deal will be the inevitability of transitioning from the old guard to the new one when legendary players like Tavares and Williams possibly ddecide to move on or retire. The good news is that when that day does come, the Bandits will hopefully have the smoothest transition possible with Benesch and Smith possibly taking over the reins.
