One Maple Leafs Hopeful Unsure of Contract After a Solid Training Camp in Toronto
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton - USA Today Sports
With the pre-season having come to a close for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Steven Lorentz is hoping he did enough to earn a contract after signing on a PTO.
Alongside Max Pacioretty, Lorentz joined the Maple Leafs in the late stages of the off-season on a professional tryout contract. With the former expected to sign a contract later today, the latter remains without one with the pre-season schedule having come to a close and the regular season starting in just a few days.
In his final game of the exhibition slate, Lorentz was able to get the Leafs on the board midway through the first period before finishing the game with 2 hits, 1 blocked shot, and 13:04 TOI, which is a lot of ice time for a 4th liner. It was his first point in 4 contests, but he averaged close to 15 minutes a night and played relatively well in his bottom-6 role.
Asked about his current contract situation with the Maple Leafs, Lorentz believes he did the best he could during training camp and the pre-season slate and that it's now in the control of the front office:
"We'll see (about a contract). That's out of my control. I did my part. I'm happy with the way I played. It's a deep team and they have a lot of hard decisions to make. That's a good sign when you have an organization that has that much depth."
He finished off the night explaining what scoring that goal meant to him, considering he grew up as a fan of the Maple Leafs, hailing from nearby Kitchener, Ontario:
"I blacked out a little bit there. Just knowing that things have come full circle, to come into this rink as a kid and watching as a young guy, and then being able to do that and put my arms over my head, it was a pretty special feeling."
Nevertheless, it could still bring about some good news for the veteran forward as Frank Seravalli from the Daily Faceoff mentioned a few days ago that he believes the Maple Leafs would be signing him to a new contract, alongside Pacioretty.
If so, the 28-year-old, would bring about 230 games of regular season experience, an additional 32 games in the post-season, and he played in 16 games during the Florida Panthers' most recent Stanley Cup run. He was a useful piece for Florida in the post-season, and would be a useful piece for the Leafs if and when that time of the year arrives.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 6 | 2006 ANSWERS One Maple Leafs Hopeful Unsure of Contract After a Solid Training Camp in Toronto Do you think the Maple Leafs should bring Steven Lorentz into the fold for the 2024-25 season? | ||
| Yes, he's a solid bottom-6 role player | 1582 | 78.9 % |
| No, there's too many mouths to feed as is | 105 | 5.2 % |
| Only if you move on from Kampf, Jarnkrok or Reaves | 319 | 15.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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