The Buffalo Bandits signed forward John Tavares and six other players to one-year contracts on Friday.

"It's great to be back for another season in 'Banditland,' and I'm looking forward to another competitive season with my teammates," said Tavares. "I believe we have a great nucleus of players in Buffalo and there's no reason we can't get back to being a championship team."
            
Tavares enters his 24th season, all with the Bandits. He's the all-time NLL leader in virtually every offensive category, including games played (296), goals (803), assists, (914), and points (1,717).

He's also the franchise leader in loose balls (2,166) and holds Bandits single-season records in points (115; 2001), goals (51; 2001, 2009) and assists (64; 2001).

In addition to Tavares, the Bandits have signed forwards Alex Kedoh Hill, Tyler Ferreira and Mike Melnychenko, transition players Jordan Critch and Matthew Bennett, and defenseman Jonathan Newhouse.