Photo credit: Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports
Steven Lorentz spent his summer as a Stanley Cup champion and has publicly spoken about how amazing it would be to repeat with the Maple Leafs this season.
The fourth line forward from Kitchener signed a PTO with the Maple Leafs not long after his day with the Cup. He described what it was like win the holy grail of hockey to reporters in the vivid way fans dream of.
“Everyone says that you can’t put it into words and it’s so true because in the heat of the moment… How do you summarize the first 23 years of your life? All you’ve ever wanted to do is that goal and now you’ve achieved it,” Lorentz said.
He’s hungry for another Cup. Just watching the clip, you can see it in his face. You can hear it in his voice. He wants it bad. He has the passion. When asked if he had imagined what it would be like to win it in Toronto, the team he grew up idolizing, Lorentz lit up like a Christmas tree.
“I’ve tried. I try to keep things in perspective. Growing up being a Leafs fan and seeing the struggles… It’s no secret obviously, it would just be mayhem if the Leafs were able to do it,” Lorentz said.
Lorentz is a very big body, standing at 6’4 and weighing 216 pounds. The veteran center has the size General Manager Brad Treliving and coach Craig Berube like. He skates well enough, provides energy and physicality and can even bring a little offense.
Leafs reporter James Mirtle pondered on Wednesday whether Lorentz is perhaps already earmarked for an NHL contract with the team. The reason for Mirtle’s curiosity is that Lorentz is currently practicing with Group A — a group comprised of all of the surefire Maple Leafs on it.
It seems like a given that Lorentz will be a member of the Maple Leafs once a trade is made. His presence allows the Maple Leafs to part with one of David Kampf or Calle Jarnkrok, picking up significant cap savings in the process. I’m not sure the Leafs can justify paying David Kampf $2.4M per season if Lorentz is willing to do the same job for under $1M — and he has a Stanley Cup on his resumé to boot.
While there’s no guarantee that Lorentz turns his PTO into an NHL contract in Toronto, there are too many reasons why it makes sense to discount the possibility.
