Free agent center Steven Lorentz will don a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey for the upcoming pro tryout. The 28-year-old played for the Florida Panthers last season, winning the Stanley Cup with the team. He has not signed with a team for more than two months after entering the free agent market last June. Lorentz played in 16 of the 24 playoff games last season in a Florida Panthers jersey, contributing 2 goals and 1 assist, averaging 7 minutes and 07 seconds of ice time per game.
An Ontario native, Lorentz missed several games during the regular season due to health issues and his overall performance was limited. He occasionally took on penalty kill duties in the Panthers’ bench lineup, but only had 1 goal and 2 assists in 38 games throughout the season. Prior to joining the Panthers, he played for the San Jose Sharks, and Florida traded scorer Anthony Duclair to the Sharks in exchange for Lorentz. In fact, this was Lorentz’s only season in Florida. If he successfully signs with the Maple Leafs, it will be his fourth team in four years.
In his early career, Lorentz wore a Carolina Hurricanes jersey. Before being sent to San Jose in the Brent Burns trade in 2022, he played for the Hurricanes and played for their AHL affiliate Charlotte Hornets. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, he was demoted to the minor leagues for the last time.
Lorentz is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 205 pounds. He will try to prove that he can fill the team’s depth lineup gap in the Maple Leafs’ training camp. Toronto currently has little salary cap space, according to PuckPedia data, the Maple Leafs still have $1.275 million in salary cap space and two roster spots, so they have the opportunity to bring in a minimum-salary player like Lorentz.
Lorentz has played 230 NHL games in the past four seasons, scoring 21 goals, 22 assists, accumulating 43 points, and averaging 10:47 of playing time per game. He can play center and left wing, and has a 48.7% win rate in nearly 1,100 faceoffs. In the Maple Leafs’ training camp, he will compete with experienced players such as Alex Steeves and rookies such as Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten for a spot in the Maple Leafs’ roster.