The Toronto Maple Leafs dished out a couple of professional tryout (PTO) contracts this offseason, and while most of the attention is geared toward 16-year NHL veteran Max Pacioretty, Steven Lorentz hopes to not only turn his PTO into a contract but to help the team he grew up cheering for achieve the ultimate goal shared by the players and the fans – winning a Stanley Cup.
Hailing from just down the road in Kitchener-Waterloo, Lorentz is the third player the Leafs have brought over from the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers’ roster of 2023-24, after defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and goaltender Anthony Stolarz. The 28-year-old played in only 38 games for the Panthers this season but found some more consistent playing time for the Panthers during the playoffs, scoring two goals in 16 postseason games. He spent the previous season with the San Jose Sharks and the two before that with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Lorentz joined First Up with Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo Monday morning to talk about why he chose the Maple Leafs, what he hoped to bring to the team as well as some stories about his summer festivities with the Cup.
“Being a Toronto Maple Leaf is something I always wanted to be”
This morning on #FirstUp, Steven Lorentz explained why he decided to join #LeafsForever on a PTO.
Listen to Lorentz’s full interview HERE: https://t.co/mP7Bkkt0UI pic.twitter.com/bOtvgBhLhS
— First Up (@FirstUp1050) September 16, 2024
“Being a Toronto Maple Leaf is something I’ve always wanted to be since I was a little kid.” Lorentz said. “For an opportunity like this to come up, I just thought, this is a group that I thought I could come in and use what I learned last year in winning with Florida to hopefully bring that knowledge and experience to a team like Toronto. I think it could be a good fit pending all goes well.”
Outside of Stolarz and Ekman-Larsson, Lorentz has already become familiar with a couple of players in the Maple Leafs dressing room. He said that he came to Toronto early to get a head start on training and has already met Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, both of whom introduced themselves to him, and also noted that he was looking forward to reuniting with Max Domi, whom he played with for half a season in Carolina.
“He’s reached out to me numerous times. Texted me after we won the Cup, too, after I hadn’t seen him in a little while.” he said before turning his attention back to the rest of the team. “Just good character guys, that’s what it takes to do well at this level. Guys that are going to buy in and do whatever they can to help the guys in the locker room who sit beside them. So far it’s been a great experience.”
He also touched on the culture inside the Florida Panthers locker room and noted that there’s a lot that goes into building it.
“There’s always a different guy stepping up. It could be a bottom pair defenceman making a game saving block or it could be a fourth-liner banging home a rebound to win the game. Across the board, it takes effort from all 23 guys on the roster. It takes a full team effort. That’s what it’s going to take this season and that’s what it’s going to take if Toronto wants to do it.”
Training camp gets underway on Wednesday and although Lorentz isn’t guaranteed a roster spot, or even a contract for that matter, he’s already got his sights set on the top of the mountain. You can listen to the full interview here.
“I’ve looked at this group and I believe this group can get the job done. It’s gonna take time from early on in the season, but like I said, I believe this group can do it, and what a cool experience it would be to do it in Toronto.”
