Maple Leafs Share Great News Regarding PTO Invitee Steven Lorentz

The Leafs made it a goal to get bigger this off-season and in doing so, they brought in 6-foot-4 Steven Lorentz on a PTO agreement. Unfortunately, after skating in just one on-ice session, Lorentz has been away from the main groups as he suffered an upper-body injury on the second day of camp.

It was a tough break for the Kitchener/Waterloo native as he noted how excited he was to join the Leafs earlier in the week.

Over the past couple of days, Lorentz has taken to the ice in a red non-contact jersey as he recovered and he and the Leafs got good news at practice today.

Lorentz rejoined the main group for practice in a regular jersey and skated on a line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Although he is only a placeholder for Matthew Knies who will be playing in Ottawa tonight, the fact Lorentz was able to jump back into high-paced practices alongside two of the Leafs' stars bodes well for the Stanley Cup Champion. As long as he continues to progress over the next couple of days, he should get into the lineup for the Leafs' next pre-season game Thursday when they host the Montreal Canadiens.

The big-bodied forward can play down the middle or on the wing and could find himself replacing the likes of David Kampf should GM Brad Treliving opt to clear some additional cap space. A physical presence and responsible defensively, Lorentz can provide the Leafs with a much more cost-efficient center than Kampf as long as he is able to remain healthy the rest of camp.

The 28-year-old was a seventh-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2015 and has skated in 230 career NHL games where he has amassed 21 goals and 43 points with Carolina, San Jose and Florida.