| 2004 NLL season | |
| League: | National Lacrosse League |
| Sport: | Indoor lacrosse |
| Pixels: | 100px |
| No Of Teams: | 10 |
| No Of Games: | 16 |
| Duration: | December 26, 2003 – May 7, 2004 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Mvp: | Jim Veltman (Toronto Rock) |
| Mvp Link: | National Lacrosse League MVP Award |
| Top Scorer: | Gary Gait (Colorado Mammoth) |
| Top Scorer Link: | 2004 NLL season |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Conf1: | Eastern |
| Conf1 Champ: | Toronto Rock |
| Conf1 Runner-Up: | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Conf2: | Western |
| Conf2 Champ: | Colorado Mammoth |
| Conf2 Runner-Up: | San Jose Stealth |
| Finals: | Champion's Cup |
| Finals Link: | Champion's Cup |
| Finals Champ: | Calgary Roughnecks |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Buffalo Bandits |
| Finals Mvp: | Curtis Palidwor (Calgary) |
| Finals Mvp Link: | Champion's Cup#Most Valuable Players |
| Seasonslistnames: | NLL |
| Prevseason Link: | 2003 NLL season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2003 season |
| Nextseason Link: | 2005 NLL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2005 season |
| Tv: | Fox Sports Net[1] |
The 2004 National Lacrosse League season is the 18th season in the NLL that began on December 26, 2003, with the Arizona Sting hosting the Vancouver Ravens. That game was the Sting's first-ever game and the first event held in the new Glendale Arena (now Gila River Arena) in Glendale, Arizona. The season concluded with the championship game on May 7, 2004. Over 19,000 fans, the second largest crowd ever at an NLL game, packed the Pengrowth Saddledome (now Scotiabank Saddledome) to watch the Calgary Roughnecks defeat the Buffalo Bandits 14–11.[2] This game was the first NLL championship game since 1998 that did not feature the Toronto Rock.
The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and the Professional Lacrosse Players' Association expired before the 2004 season, and the lack of a new agreement caused a 12-day players strike in December 2003. On December 17, the NLL and PLPA announced that the previous CBA had been extended by one year, guaranteeing that the 2004 season would be played without strikes or lockouts.[3]
2004 was a season of turmoil for the NLL – two franchises disappeared while three others moved cross-country, causing a division realignment. Gone was the three-division format that had been used in the preceding two seasons; the league was now split into East and West divisions. The Ottawa Rebel and New York Saints franchises both folded, and the following teams moved:
These three joined Colorado, Calgary, and Vancouver in the West division, while perennial rivals Toronto, Buffalo, Rochester, and Philadelphia were left to fight over three playoff spots in the East.
| 2004 National Lacrosse League | |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | HSBC Arena | 18,690 | |
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wachovia Center | 19,523 | ||
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 | ||
| Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Air Canada Centre | 18,800 | ||
| West | Anaheim Storm | Anaheim, California | Arrowhead Pond | 17,174 | |
| Arizona Sting | Glendale, Arizona | Glendale Arena | 17,125 | ||
| Calgary Roughnecks | Calgary, Alberta | Pengrowth Saddledome | 19,289 | ||
| Colorado Mammoth | Denver, Colorado | Pepsi Center | 18,007 | ||
| San Jose Stealth | San Jose, California | HP Pavilion | 17,496 | ||
| Vancouver Ravens | Vancouver, British Columbia | General Motors Place | 18,514 | ||
The 2004 All-Star Game was held at Pepsi Center in Denver on February 22, 2004. The East division defeated the West 19–15, and Buffalo's Mark Steenhuis was named game MVP.
| Eastern Division starters | Western Division starters | |
|---|---|---|
| Colin Doyle, Toronto | Gary Gait, Colorado | |
| Blaine Manning, Toronto | Tracey Kelusky, Calgary | |
| John Tavares, Buffalo | Gavin Prout, Colorado | |
| Pat Coyle, Toronto | Jim Moss, San Jose | |
| Mike Hasen, Rochester | Andy Ogilvie, Vancouver | |
| Pat O'Toole, Rochester (goalie) | Gee Nash, Colorado (goalie) | |
| Eastern Division Reserves | Western Division Reserves | |
| Mike Accursi, Buffalo | Ted Dowling, Calgary | |
| Jake Bergey, Philadelphia | Mark Shepherd, Anaheim | |
| Paul Cantabene, Philadelphia | Jay Jalbert, Colorado | |
| Glenn Clark, Toronto | Rob Kirkby, Calgary | |
| Kyle Couling, Buffalo | Mike Law, Anaheim | |
| Steve Dietrich, Buffalo (goalie) | Pat Maddalena, Arizona | |
| Derek Malawsky, Rochester | Mike Miron, Arizona (goalie) | |
| Tom Marechek, Philadelphia | Casey Powell, Anaheim | |
| Jeff Ratcliffe, Philadelphia | Josh Sanderson, San Jose | |
| Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo | Dan Stroup, Vancouver | |
| Andrew Turner, Rochester | Kaleb Toth, Calgary | |
| Jim Veltman, Toronto | Cam Woods, San Jose | |
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MVP Award | Jim Veltman | Toronto |
| Rookie of the Year Award | Taylor Wray | Calgary |
| Les Bartley Award (Coach of the Year) | Paul Day | Rochester |
| GM of the Year Award | John Mouradian | San Jose |
| Executive of the Year Award | Steve Govett | Colorado |
| Defensive Player of the Year Award | Cam Woods (tie) | San Jose |
| Calgary | ||
| Goaltender of the Year Award | Gord Nash | Colorado |
| Sportsmanship Award | Gary Gait (tie) | Colorado |
| Peter Lough | Arizona | |
| Championship Game MVP | Curtis Palidwor | Calgary |
The NLL gives out awards weekly for the best overall player, best offensive player, best defensive player, and best rookie.
| Week | Overall | Offensive | Defensive | Rookie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No awards given | |||
| 2 | Gary Gait | AJ Shannon | ||
| 3 | Ted Dowling | Matt King | Randy Daly | |
| 4 | Blaine Manning | Craig Conn | ||
| 5 | Mike Regan | Brandon Miller | Nick Patterson | |
| 6 | Steve Hoar | |||
| 7 | Dallas Eliuk | Taylor Wray | ||
| 8 | John Tavares | Jeff Ratcliffe | ||
| 9 | Mark Shepherd | AJ Shannon | ||
| 10 | Curtis Palidwor | Shawn Williams | Curtis Palidwor | Scott Evans |
| 11 | Mike Miron | Pat Maddalena | Mike Miron | Cam Bergman |
| 12 | Jim Veltman | Dwight Maetche | Scott Evans | |
| 13 | Shawn Williams | Shawn Williams | Peter Lough | Chris Cercy |
| 14 | Jim Veltman | Dallas Eliuk | Ryan Ward | |
| 15 | Shawn Williams | Shawn Williams | Curtis Smith | |
| 16 | Shawn Williams | Shawn Williams | Pat O'Toole | Brad MacDonald |
Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
| Month | Overall | Rookie | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Craig Conn | ||
| Feb | John Tavares | Craig Conn | |
| Mar | Jim Veltman | Taylor Wray |
Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.
| Stat | Player | Team | Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | Gary Gait | Colorado | 55 | |
| Assists | Josh Sanderson | San Jose | 61 | |
| Points | Gary Gait | Colorado | 93 | |
| Penalty Minutes | Troy Bonterre | Arizona | 73 | |
| Loose Balls | Jim Veltman | Toronto | 179 | |
| Save Pct | Gee Nash | Colorado | 79.0 |
| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance[6] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Mammoth | 8 | 17,617 | 140,942 | |
| Toronto Rock | 8 | 16,907 | 135,256 | |
| Philadelphia Wings | 8 | 13,640 | 109,123 | |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 8 | 9,994 | 79,950 | |
| Buffalo Bandits | 8 | 8,929 | 71,435 | |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 8 | 8,787 | 70,293 | |
| Vancouver Ravens | 8 | 7,124 | 56,992 | |
| Arizona Sting | 8 | 5,768 | 46,147 | |
| San Jose Stealth | 8 | 5,332 | 42,656 | |
| Anaheim Storm | 8 | 4,750 | 37,997 | |
| League | 80 | 9,749 | 779,946 |
| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Roughnecks | 1 | 19,289 | 19,289 | |
| Toronto Rock | 1 | 14,618 | 14,618 | |
| Colorado Mammoth | 1 | 14,283 | 14,283 | |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 1 | 7,029 | 7,029 | |
| San Jose Stealth | 1 | 4,874 | 4,874 | |
| League | 5 | 12,019 | 60,093 |