PTO signing Steven Lorentz says he's always wanted to be a Toronto Maple Leaf
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed a couple of free agents to PTOs this month including 2024 Stanley Cup champion Steven Lorentz, who's very happy to join them.
Later this week, the Toronto Maple Leafs will open training camp ahead of their 107th season of play in the National Hockey League and expectations are sky high for the group now led by Auston Matthews.
Over the summer, General Manager Brad Treliving made some significant additions to the team to help them be harder to play against. One of those new additions came via a professional tryout with gritty forward Steven Lorentz, who grew up just over an hour southwest in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.
On Monday, Lorentz was a guest on First Up on TSN 1050 radio where he shared his excitement for the opportunity in Toronto and that he's always wanted to be a Maple Leaf. He mentioned that he's hoping to bring his knowledge and experience from winning the Stanley Cup last year to Toronto as they look to win it all in 2025.
He added, "I think it could be a good fit, pending all goes well. I feel great coming into camp here and I'm just excited to get started and get the season back up and going again. To be able to do that in a Leafs sweater close to home with lots of friends and family around town and in the area would be something that you know, I would take a lot of pride in being from just up the road and the team I grew up cheering for. Being able to hoist a Stanley Cup here in Toronto would be something that would be incredible for everybody."
Lorentz, if he's able to earn a contract, would be an ideal piece for the Maple Leafs' bottom-six. He's a physical, gritty forward who isn't afraid to get into the dirty areas and would also give Craig Berube another option on the penalty kill.
We'll have to wait and see what training camp and preseason has in store for Steven Lorentz, but it wouldn't be surprising at all to see him land a one-year contract before the Maple Leafs open their season on October 9th against the Montreal Canadiens.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 16 | 39 ANSWERS PTO signing Steven Lorentz says he's always wanted to be a Toronto Maple Leaf Will Steven Lorentz earn a contract with the Maple Leafs at the end of training camp? | ||
| Yes | 21 | 53.8 % |
| No | 18 | 46.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
