Bandits To Honor Tavares, Retire Number On March 11

The Buffalo Bandits today announced that former forward and current assistant coach John Tavares will have his No. 11 retired on Friday, March 11 when the Bandits take on the Rochester Knighthawks at First Niagara Center.

Tavares concluded his playing career as the NLL’s all-time leader in games played (306), goals (815), assists (934) and points (1,749), as well as second in league history in loose ball recoveries (2,169). He played in a league-record 10 NLL All-Star games and was named to the NLL All-Pro team a record 19 times, while winning the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 1994, 2000 and 2001.

The Mississauga, Ontario native served as an alternate captain for the Bandits for 18 seasons before being named captain prior to the 2013 season. He led the team in scoring in 17 of his 24 seasons with the franchise, including 10 consecutive seasons from 1999 to 2008.

Tavares was a part of four Bandits championship teams (1992, 1993, 1996 and 2008), and tops the NLL’s all-time playoff list in games played (38), goals (84), assists (116) and points (200).