Maple Leafs Forward Steven Lorentz Turning Heads in Toronto, Accomplishing Absurd Feat
For Toronto Maple Leafs forward Steven Lorentz, the 2024-25 season has been full of surprises, but his latest accomplishment takes the cake.
Originally invited to Maple Leafs training camp on a PTO, there were no guarantees for the 28-year-old from Kitchener, Ontario -- even coming off of a Stanley Cup victory with the Florida Panthers last season.
Now, fast forwarding to the midway point of the 2024-25 season, it's hard to imagine the Leafs' bottom six without the 6'4" 216-pound wrecking ball.
Lorentz is one of several Maple Leafs who became eligible to sign a contract extension as of January 1st, and there are a lot of fans who would like to see the veteran forward stick around awhile longer, thanks to his incredible work ethic and effective play in his first season under Craig Berube.
Lorentz is still very much within reach of a career year in points, currently sitting at 9 points through 43 games. His career best 10 goals and 19 points in 80 games came during his time with the San Jose Sharks in 2022-23. He also happened to be a -18 that season.
In Toronto, however, Lorentz seems to have carved himself out a nice role, playing in the bottom six, at times on the third line, and also being a fixture on a solid Leafs penalty kill. So far this season, Lorentz is a +3.
None of these stats are impressive by your traditional standards, so let me toss one out there for you that is quite staggering.
Sportsnet's Luke Fox has pointed out that Lorentz leads the league in a pretty unbelievable stat. He has played 43 games so far this season and has yet to receive a single penalty, despite currently leading all Maple Leafs forwards in hits with 114. Only Simon Benoit (116) has landed more hits on the season for the Leafs.
So, why has Lorentz had such great success staying out of the box? He does his best to keep the play in front of him, rather than chasing it and being forced to reach in on guys. He also understands that he has more value to his team on the ice than in the penalty box.
I don't really like sitting in the box; at the end of the day, you are hurting your team. There are good penalties to take, definitely - when you're standing up for a teammate, or you gotta save a goal. But I've never really been one to be in the penalty box, wasting my time when I could be on any ice contributing," said Lorentz.
I can't recall the last time that one of a team's hitting leaders won the Lady Byny Trophy, awarded to the league's most sportsmanlike player, but Lorentz is currently a frontrunner for the award, which is absurd when you stop and think about it. On pace for more than 200 hits, and in the running for the Lady Byng. How about that?
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2 HOURS AGO | 158 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Forward Steven Lorentz Turning Heads in Toronto, Accomplishing Absurd Feat Will Steven Lorentz end up winning the Lady Byng Trophy this season? | ||
