National Lacrosse League Cup
Trophy awarded to the playoff winners in the National Lacrosse League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Lacrosse League Cup (NLL Cup) is the trophy awarded each year to the champions of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Prior to 2018, the league awarded the Champions Cup.[1] The NLL Cup was redesigned in 2024.[2][3]
Winners
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Philadelphia Wings | Baltimore Thunder | 2–0[4] | |
| 1999 | Toronto Rock | Rochester Knighthawks | 13–10 | |
| 2000 | Toronto Rock | Rochester Knighthawks | 14–13 | |
| 2001 | Philadelphia Wings | Toronto Rock | 9–8 | |
| 2002 | Toronto Rock | Albany Attack | 13–12 | |
| 2003 | Toronto Rock | Rochester Knighthawks | 8–6 | |
| 2004 | Calgary Roughnecks | Buffalo Bandits | 14–11 | |
| 2005 | Toronto Rock | Arizona Sting | 19–13 | |
| 2006 | Colorado Mammoth | Buffalo Bandits | 16–9 | |
| 2007 | Rochester Knighthawks | Arizona Sting | 13–11 | |
| 2008 | Buffalo Bandits | Portland LumberJax | 14–13 | |
| 2009 | Calgary Roughnecks | New York Titans | 12–10 | |
| 2010 | Washington Stealth | Toronto Rock | 15–11 | |
| 2011 | Toronto Rock | Washington Stealth | 8–7 | |
| 2012 | Rochester Knighthawks | Edmonton Rush | 9–6 | |
| 2013 | Rochester Knighthawks | Washington Stealth | 11–10 | |
| 2014 | Rochester Knighthawks | Calgary Roughnecks | 2–1[5] | |
| 2015 | Edmonton Rush | Toronto Rock | 2–0[6] | |
| 2016 | Saskatchewan Rush | Buffalo Bandits | 2–0[7] | |
| 2017 | Georgia Swarm | Saskatchewan Rush | 2–0[8] | |
| 2018 | Saskatchewan Rush | Rochester Knighthawks | 2–1[9] | |
| 2019 | Calgary Roughnecks | Buffalo Bandits | 2–0[10] | |
| 2022 | Colorado Mammoth | Buffalo Bandits | 2–1[11] | |
| 2023 | Buffalo Bandits | Colorado Mammoth | 2–1[12] | |
| 2024 | Buffalo Bandits | Albany FireWolves | 2–0[13] | |
| 2025 | Buffalo Bandits | Saskatchewan Rush | 2-1[14] |
Most Valuable Players
| Year | Winner | Team | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Dallas Eliuk | Philadelphia Wings | 2 wins |
| 1999 | Colin Doyle | Toronto Rock | 4 goals, 2 assists |
| 2000 | Dan Stroup | Toronto Rock | 5 goals |
| 2001 | Dallas Eliuk | Philadelphia Wings | 40 saves |
| 2002 | Colin Doyle | Toronto Rock | 3 goals, 1 assist |
| 2003 | Bob Watson | Toronto Rock | 40 saves |
| 2004 | Curtis Palidwor | Calgary Roughnecks | 41 saves |
| 2005 | Colin Doyle | Toronto Rock | 5 goals, 3 assists |
| 2006 | Gavin Prout | Colorado Mammoth | 4 goals, 3 assists |
| 2007 | John Grant, Jr. | Rochester Knighthawks | 3 goals, 5 assists |
| 2008 | Mark Steenhuis | Buffalo Bandits | 5 goals, 1 assist |
| 2009 | Josh Sanderson | Calgary Roughnecks | 2 goals, 3 assists |
| 2010 | Lewis Ratcliff | Washington Stealth | 5 goals, 1 assist |
| 2011 | Bob Watson | Toronto Rock | 46 saves |
| 2012 | Cody Jamieson | Rochester Knighthawks | 4 goals, 4 assists |
| 2013 | Cody Jamieson | Rochester Knighthawks | 3 goals, 2 assists |
| 2014 | Dan Dawson | Rochester Knighthawks | 3 goals, 5 assists |
| 2015 | Mark Matthews | Edmonton Rush | 5 goals, 3 assists |
| 2016 | Aaron Bold | Saskatchewan Rush | 9.50 GAA, 82.5% save pct. |
| 2017 | Lyle Thompson | Georgia Swarm | 3 goals, 4 assists |
| 2018 | Jeff Shattler | Saskatchewan Rush | 7 goals, 5 assists |
| 2019 | Dane Dobbie | Calgary Roughnecks | 7 goals, 6 assists |
| 2022 | Dillon Ward | Colorado Mammoth | 289 playoff saves |
| 2023 | Dhane Smith | Buffalo Bandits | 9 goals, 14 assists |
| 2024 | Josh Byrne | Buffalo Bandits | 4 goals, 12 assists |
| 2025 | Ian MacKay | Buffalo Bandits | 7 goals, 5 assists |
All-time Finals appearances since league inception
| Appearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Winning % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Currently active franchises | ||||
| 14 | Buffalo Bandits | 7 | 7 | .500 |
| 9 | Toronto Rock | 6 | 3 | .667 |
| 6 | Colorado Mammoth[15] | 3 | 3 | .500 |
| 5 | Saskatchewan Rush[16] | 3 | 2 | .600 |
| 4 | Vancouver Warriors[17] | 1 | 3 | .250 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 3 | 1 | .750 | |
| 1 | Georgia Swarm | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Inactive franchises - Knighthawks relocated, not inactive | ||||
| 10 | Rochester Knighthawks (1995-2019) | 5 | 5 | .500 |
| 9 | Philadelphia Wings (1987-2014) | 6 | 3 | .667 |
| 2 | New York Saints[18] | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Arizona Sting | 0 | 2 | .000 | |
| Washington Wave | 0 | 2 | .000 | |
| 1 | Detroit Turbos | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Albany FireWolves | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
| Boston Blazers (1989-1997)[19] | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
| New York Titans | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
| Portland LumberJax | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
All-time league championships
| League Championships | Team | Winning seasons |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Buffalo Bandits | 1992, 1993, 1996, 2008, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| 6 | Toronto Rock | 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2011 |
| Philadelphia Wings (1987-2014) | 1989,[20] 1990,[20] 1994,[20] 1995,[20] 1998,[20] 2001[20] | |
5 |
Rochester Knighthawks (1995-2019) | 1997,[21] 2007,[21] 2012,[21] 2013,[21] 2014[21] |
| 3 | Saskatchewan Rush | 2015,[22] 2016, 2018 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 2004, 2009, 2019 | |
| Colorado Mammoth | 1987,[23] 2006, 2022 | |
| 1 | Detroit Turbos | 1991 |
| Georgia Swarm | 2017 | |
| New York Saints[24] | 1988 | |
| Washington Stealth | 2010 |
National Lacrosse League Cup Appearances
| Appearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Winning % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Buffalo Bandits | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| 2 | Colorado Mammoth | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Saskatchewan Rush | 1 | 1 | .500 | |
| 1 | ||||
| Calgary Roughnecks | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Rochester Knighthawks (1995-2019) | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
| Albany FireWolves | 0 | 1 | .000 |
All-time National Lacrosse League Cup wins
| NLL Cups Won | Team | Winning seasons |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Buffalo Bandits | 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| 1 | ||
| Saskatchewan Rush | 2018 | |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 2019 | |
| Colorado Mammoth | 2022 | |
Champion's Cup appearances
Awarded from 1998 to 2017
| Appearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Winning % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Currently active franchises | |||||
| 9 | Toronto Rock | 6 | 3 | .667 | |
| 7 | Rochester Knighthawks (1995-2019) | 4 | 3 | .571 | |
| 4 | Saskatchewan Rush[25] | 2 | 2 | .500 | |
| Vancouver Warriors[17] | 1 | 3 | .250 | ||
| Buffalo Bandits | 1 | 3 | .250 | ||
| Calgary Roughnecks | 3 | 1 | .750 | ||
| 2 | Philadelphia Wings (1987-2014) | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 1 | Colorado Mammoth | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Georgia Swarm | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| Inactive franchises | |||||
| 2 | Arizona Sting | 0 | 2 | .000 | |
| 1 | New York Titans | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
| Portland LumberJax | 0 | 1 | .000 | ||
All-time Champion's Cup wins
| Champion's Cups Won |
Team | Winning seasons |
|---|---|---|
6 |
Toronto Rock | 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2011 |
4 |
Rochester Knighthawks (1995-2019) | 2007,[26] 2012,[26] 2013,[26] 2014[26] |
| 2 | Calgary Roughnecks | 2004, 2009 |
| Philadelphia Wings (1987-2014) | 1998,[27] 2001[27] | |
| Saskatchewan Rush | 2015,[22] 2016 | |
| 1 | Buffalo Bandits | 2008 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 2006 | |
| Georgia Swarm | 2017 | |
| Washington Stealth | 2010 |
North American Cup era
For the 1987 and 1988 seasons, the league was known as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League; from the 1989 season until the conclusion of the 1997 season, the league was known as the Major Indoor Lacrosse League. In 1998, the Major Indoor Lacrosse League changed to become the National Lacrosse League. During the entire non-NLL name era (1987-1997), a different trophy was awarded to the league champion called the North American Cup.[28] It was a tall, skinny, silver-colored trophy that somewhat resembled the Stanley Cup.
North American Cup era league champions
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League | ||||
| 1987 | Baltimore Thunder | Washington Wave | 11—10 | |
| 1988 | New Jersey Saints | Washington Wave | 17—16 | |
| Major Indoor Lacrosse League | ||||
| 1989 | Philadelphia Wings | New York Saints | 11—10 | |
| 1990 | Philadelphia Wings | New England Blazers | 17—7 | |
| 1991 | Detroit Turbos | Baltimore Thunder | 14—12 | |
| 1992 | Buffalo Bandits | Philadelphia Wings | 11—10 (OT) | |
| 1993 | Buffalo Bandits | Philadelphia Wings | 13—12 | |
| 1994 | Philadelphia Wings | Buffalo Bandits | 26—15 | |
| 1995 | Philadelphia Wings | Rochester Knighthawks | 15—14 (OT) | |
| 1996 | Buffalo Bandits | Philadelphia Wings | 15—10 | |
| 1997 | Rochester Knighthawks | Buffalo Bandits | 15—12 | |