Craig Berube Reveals What He Wants to See From Pacioretty, Lorentz at Leafs Camp to Earn NHL Deals
Photo credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube has revealed what he's looking for from Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz at training camp as they pursue NHL contracts.
The Maple Leafs invited a trio of players to camp this year on PTOs, including forwards Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz, and goaltender Jon Gillies. While Gillies doesn't exactly have a lot of hope of earning a contract in Toronto, given the crowded creases at the NHL and AHL levels, Pacioretty and Lorentz definitely have a chance to earn an NHL deal with the Leafs.
Unfortunately for Lorentz, an injury in camp earlier this week has sidelined him, leaving him with a "day-to-day" injury designation. However, he should make his way into some pre-season games, where he'll have a chance to show his worth.
Pacioretty, on the other hand, seems to perhaps already have a handshake deal in place with the Leafs that will grant him an NHL contract, as long as he makes it through camp in one piece. Injury concerns are very real with Pacioretty, who has missed a tremendous amount of time in recent years with back-to-back Achillies injuries.
Earlier this week, Leafs coach Craig Berube told the media in Toronto what he's looking for from his guys on professional tryouts that might put them in an excellent position to earn a contract with the organization. At around 30:30 of the clip below, Berube discussed what he'd like to see from these players, as well as the younger guys battling for jobs.
"Well, I mean, just as we're looking at other guys, you know, young guys out of junior or college, and I get that these guys have been in the NHL, I get all that, but what they do as players. We know that Lorentz is a guy that filled in a role last year for Florida. He's got size, he's got speed, strength, he did a good job for them in the playoffs, penalty killing and things like that.
Pacioretty's been an elite scorer in this league for a long time. You know, he's been injured for the last couple of years, so he's feeling healthy, and big, strong guy, can score, hang onto pucks."
Pacioretty's been an elite scorer in this league for a long time. You know, he's been injured for the last couple of years, so he's feeling healthy, and big, strong guy, can score, hang onto pucks."
By the sounds of things, Berube seems to enjoy Lorentz' penalty killing abilities and Pacioretty's depth scoring capabilities, so there are different things to like about each guy that could find the Leafs in a position where they move out another body or two in order to create some room for both players on the roster.
It's really anyone's guess how the roster will look on opening night with a couple of spots seemingly up for grabs and a potential trade or two on the way, but by the sounds of it, the Leafs may be planning to have one, if not both, of Lorentz and Pacioretty around this season.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 22 | 789 ANSWERS Craig Berube Reveals What He Wants to See From Pacioretty, Lorentz at Leafs Camp to Earn NHL Deals Will both Pacioretty and Lorentz sign NHL deals with the Maple Leafs at the conclusion of camp? | ||
| Yes | 408 | 51.7 % |
| No | 78 | 9.9 % |
| Just one, Pacioretty | 287 | 36.4 % |
| Just one, Lorentz | 16 | 2 % |
| List of polls | ||
MUST READ
TRENDING NOW
