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Steven Lorentz

Maple Leafs Sign Max Pacioretty, Steven Lorentz; Extend Cade Webber

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The Maple Leafs have signed forwards Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz to one-year deals after they attended training camp on professional tryouts, the team announced Monday. They’ve also signed pending restricted free agent defenseman Cade Webber to a two-year extension, keeping him under contract through the 2026-27 season.

Pacioretty’s deal is a 35+ contract with a cap hit of $873,770 with up to $626,230 in additional performance bonuses, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports. He’ll receive half those bonuses if he plays 10 games this season and all if he plays 35. The total potential value of the contract is $1.5MM. Lorentz’s deal is a straightforward one-way, league-minimum pact worth $775K, per Seravalli. Webber’s contract carries an $825K cap hit and is a two-way deal in 2025-26 before becoming a one-way pact in 2026-27, adds Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic.

Pacioretty, 35, is looking to get back on track in Toronto after a pair of Achilles tendon tears cost him most of the past two seasons. After playing just five games with the Hurricanes in 2022-23, he signed with the Capitals last summer. He made his season debut after completing his recovery in January, but his goal-scoring output plummeted from years past. ’Patches’ shot just 4.2%, scoring four goals in 47 contests while adding 19 assists for 23 points.

The former Canadiens captain is a six-time 30-goal scorer, though. While he likely won’t land top-six minutes in Toronto and thus has virtually no chance of replicating that feat, his shooting percentage should rebound to its usual 10 to 12 percent and put him back on track for double-digit scoring totals in a third-line role if he stays healthy. That’s certainly a big if, considering he hasn’t played more than 50 games in a season since the 2019-20 campaign. Still, he’ll likely open the season as the team’s 3LW alongside Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McMann or Nicholas Robertson.

Lorentz, 28, brings a Stanley Cup ring and 230 games of NHL experience to Toronto’s fourth line. The natural center played 16 of the Panthers’ 24 playoff games last year en route to the franchise’s first championship, scoring twice and adding an assist for three points with a -1 rating while averaging 7:07 per game. He won’t be much of an offensive factor, averaging seven goals and 15 points per 82 games throughout his regular season career. But he’s serviceable enough in the faceoff dot, winning 48.7% of his draws, and his possession quality numbers at even strength are historically above water. He’ll likely start at left wing, with David Kämpf centering the Leafs’ fourth line.

Webber won’t be making his NHL debut in the next few days. He’s waiver-exempt and will need to be assigned to AHL Toronto today so the Leafs can reduce their opening-night roster to a maximum of 23 players. However, the 2019 fourth-round pick stayed in the mix until the end and has seemingly impressed the Leafs since signing his entry-level contract at the end of last season. The stay-at-home defender is coming off a four-year run at Boston University, where he served as an alternate captain last year and posted six assists and a +15 rating in 38 games. He should still be in line for his NHL debut at some point this year, even if it’s not during opening week.

Pacioretty’s oddly specific cap hit has much to do with Toronto optimizing their long-term injured reserve capture to open the season, giving them as much financial flexibility as possible while dealing with some injuries. As outlined by The Score’s Kyle Cushman, the Leafs are expected to submit an opening-night roster with just $1 in cap space pending multiple moves, including returning top forward prospect Easton Cowan to his junior team, placing Fraser Minten on season-opening injured reserve with his high ankle sprain, placing Connor Dewar on standard IR, and placing Jani Hakanpää, Calle Järnkrok, and Dakota Mermis on LTIR.

Maple Leafs Notes: Matthews, Jarnkrok, Lorentz, Clifford

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Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews sustained a minor upper-body injury during practice Tuesday, head coach Craig Berube said (via The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel). He wasn’t slated to play in tonight’s preseason contest against the Sens anyway, and his absence isn’t expected to stretch into regular-season play.

It’s not a particularly auspicious start for the star centerman, who’s led the league in goals in three of the last four seasons. Last season’s career-high 69 were the most by any player since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.

One of the league’s most well-rounded players, the 27-year-old Matthews finished fourth in Hart Trophy and third in Selke Trophy voting in 2023-24. He scored and had a +1 rating in Toronto’s 6-5 overtime loss to Ottawa on Sunday.

Other injury updates out of Toronto:

  • Versatile depth forward Calle Järnkrok is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, the team told David Alter of The Hockey News. Various injuries limited Järnkrok, who turns 33 on Wednesday, to 52 appearances last season, recording 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points. He’s entering the third season of the four-year, $8.4MM contract he signed with Toronto in free agency in 2022.
  • Camp invite Steven Lorentz and AHL depth piece Kyle Clifford were back on the ice today after missing brief sections of camp with upper-body injuries, per Alter. It’s a crucial step for the 28-year-old Lorentz, who’s looking to earn a contract and a roster spot in Toronto after playing a depth role for the Stanley Cup-winning Panthers last season. A fourth-line piece at most, he had three points and a -9 rating in 38 games for Florida. Clifford, 33, is signed with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies this season after posting 28 points in 53 games there last year.

Atlantic Notes: Ullmark, Lorentz, McCabe, Seider

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Linus Ullmark is preaching consistency as he takes his talents between the pipes from Boston to Ottawa. The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner will be the Sens’ biggest X factor as they try to return to the postseason for the first time in seven years. He’ll play a leadership role as well after three straight playoff appearances with the Bruins.

“I have to show them how it has to be done every single day and not just same days,” Ullmark told Bruce Garrioch for the Ottawa Citizen. “It’s a long road ahead of us. You can’t just play for 25 games, you’ve got to play for 82 [games]. When the dog days come around 56 games into the season, and you’re gone on a road trip for nine days, and you’re going on a back-to-back in Western Canada or whatever it may be, those are the games that you need to win. It’s all about making steps and becoming the better team after every 20 games or so.”

Ullmark’s acquisition alone may be enough for the Sens to get back to the playoffs. They’ve retooled their roster in other areas, but Ullmark has been a consistently above-average starter, even dating back to his final couple of years with the Sabres around the pandemic. He saved 13.7 goals above average last season, night and day, compared to Joonas Korpisalo’s, Anton Forsberg’s, and Mads Søgaard’s combined -36.8 GSAA for Ottawa last year. The Senators actually outpaced the Bruins at even strength in their ability to control shot attempts, scoring chances, and high-danger chances.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • Maple Leafs training camp attendee Steven Lorentz hit a snag Friday in his quest to land a contract from his PTO. The forward is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury and didn’t skate, per the team. After spending most of last season in the press box for the Stanley Cup champion Panthers, recording three points in 38 games, the 28-year-old pivot had to settle for a tryout offer earlier this month.
  • Still with Toronto, defenseman Jake McCabe confirmed a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman a few weeks ago that his camp has begun contract extension negotiations. The 30-year-old told reporters today, including David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, that he’s loved his time with the Leafs and will let his agent continue talks throughout the season. Toronto has had McCabe on their books at a bargain $2MM cap hit for the past season and a half, thanks to the Blackhawks retaining 50% of his $4MM AAV in the February 2023 deal that sent him to Ontario.
  • Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider isn’t at training camp Friday after inking his seven-year, $59.85MM deal yesterday, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. He’s still in his native Germany but is scheduled to fly to Detroit tomorrow. He’ll link up with the team on Tuesday. The Wings’ first preseason game isn’t until Wednesday in Chicago, so he’ll be technically available to play, but that would be a tight turnaround.

Maple Leafs Sign Steven Lorentz To PTO

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Sep. 4: The Maple Leafs have officially invited Lorentz to camp on a PTO, per a team announcement Wednesday.

Sep. 3: Free agent center Steven Lorentz is expected to join the Maple Leafs on a professional tryout, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Lorentz, 28, remains unsigned over two months into free agency after playing a depth role in the Panthers’ Stanley Cup win last June. He suited up in 16 of their 24 playoff games, scoring twice and adding an assist while averaging a meager 7:07 per game.

The Ontario native played a more limited role in the regular season when he was a frequent healthy scratch. The depth pivot saw some spot duty on the penalty kill and had only one goal and two assists in 38 games.

It was Lorentz’s first and only season in Florida. The Panthers acquired him from the Sharks in a trade last summer that sent scoring winger Anthony Duclair to the Bay Area. He’s coming off a two-year, $2.1MM deal he signed with San Jose in 2022 after being acquired from the Hurricanes in the Brent Burns trade, potentially making Toronto his fourth team in the past four years.

The 6’4″, 205-lb forward will look to prove valuable in a depth role for the Leafs during training camp in hopes of a deal, likely a league-minimum one with a one-way structure. He hasn’t been assigned to the minors since before the COVID-19 pandemic, suiting up with Carolina’s AHL affiliate (then in Charlotte) from 2017 to 2020.

The Leafs aren’t teeming with salary cap space, but they have room for a potential league-minimum pickup like Lorentz. They have $1.275MM in projected space with two open roster spots, per PuckPedia.

In 230 NHL games over the past four seasons, Lorentz has 21 goals, 22 assists, 43 points, and a -26 rating, averaging 10:47 per game. He can play both center and left-wing and has posted a respectable 48.7% win rate in the dot through nearly 1,100 faceoffs.

Lorentz will compete with more veteran depth pieces like Alex Steeves and prospects like Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten for a spot on Toronto’s opening night roster.

West Notes: Stastney, Sprong, Lorentz

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Predators RFA defenseman Spencer Stastney is indeed having his arbitration hearing today, Nick Kieser of the team’s radio network confirms. The NHLPA is deviating from past tradition this year by not releasing a calendar of hearing dates, but arbitration figures are always exchanged two days before the hearing. When Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported the filings on Saturday, it was clear Stastney’s hearing was slated for Monday.

The Preds are down to $595K in projected cap space with a bare-minimum roster of 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies, per PuckPedia. Even though Stastney’s cap hit will come in under $1MM after arbitration (the player filed at $950K), a league-minimum $775K deal would still put Nashville slightly over the cap for now.

Even without Stastney’s arbitration hearing, a cap-clearing move would likely be coming for the Preds this offseason for the sake of roster flexibility. One has to think a cap dump would come from the blue line, where none of Nashville’s six rostered defensemen cost less than $2MM against the cap. Dante Fabbro is the only pending UFA of the bunch, and his $2.5MM cap hit is fair value for his services. He’ll be a likely trade candidate, given his cap hit could be replaced by three league-minimum players – Stastney being one of them.

They’ll get exact clarity on Stastney’s cap hit next season within the next 48 hours.

Elsewhere out West:

  • In his latest for The Athletic, Thomas Drance took a deep dive into the Canucks’ signing of Daniel Sprong over the weekend. Among other points, Drance articulates that Sprong is likely viewed internally as a lower-cost replacement for Andrei Kuzmenko, who was dealt to the Flames in last season’s Elias Lindholm blockbuster. If so, it seems the Canucks will be more willing to utilize Sprong in top-six spot duty, likely on Elias Pettersson’s right flank, than his recent homes. His offensive success with the Kraken and Red Wings the past two seasons has come despite receiving solidly bottom-six minutes.
  • It’s bottom-of-the-barrel time for teams still looking to add depth from the UFA market. Thus, the next few weeks will be the time for cap-strapped teams who were rather quiet around July 1 to shine. The Avalanche are one of those squads, and if they’re looking to replenish some fourth-line depth, it’ll need to be a league-minimum pact. Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal names ex-Panther Steven Lorentz as a candidate who fits that bill. Lorentz, 28, had three points in 16 playoff games for the Cats in their run to the 2024 Stanley Cup and would provide competition for veteran Chris Wagner and youngster Jean-Luc Foudy for fourth-line center duties in Denver.

Florida Panthers Make Lineup Changes

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With warm-ups about to start for an all-important Game 4 between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, the Panthers will have a different look in their bottom six. According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, Florida is expected to hold Nick Cousins and Ryan Lomberg out of the lineup, while Kyle Okposo and Steven Lorentz will replace them.

As one of the biggest agitators in the Panthers’ lineup, Cousins has continued to do what he’s known for during the postseason even after seeing his ice time cut precipitously. Relied upon by Florida as a physically involved player, Cousins has only administered three hits during the Eastern Conference Finals after totaling 14 in the team’s series against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins.

Similarly to Cousins, Lomberg has been a very physical player for the Panthers all season long on the team’s fourth line but has not been able to feature in many postseason appearances up to this point. Even though Florida has already played in 14 games this postseason, Lomberg has suited up in only five, registering zero points while posting a -2 rating. However, Lomberg’s absence was not due to poor play as he suffered an upper-body injury in the team’s Round One series against the Lightning.

Okposo will return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last four games with his most recent contest coming in Game 6 of Round Two against the Bruins. Acquired as a veteran forward to insert into the team’s bottom line, Okposo has already registered two assists in this year’s playoffs, providing more offensive punch than the other options.

On the other hand, Lorentz had primarily been relied upon as a depth piece for the Panthers this season in case of injury. Nevertheless, Lorentz has already equaled his production over 38 games in the regular season, scoring one goal and three points in only nine postseason games.

Although these lineup changes are centered around Florida’s fourth line, it appears that head coach Paul Maurice has his eye set on generating more offense from his forward core. After a casual victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Panthers were only two shots away from having a commanding three-game lead. Keeping this in mind, Maurice may hope one of these players could become a difference-maker in Game 4.

Snapshots: Bengtsson, Lomberg, Lorentz, Broberg

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After his college career came to an end in the 2024 National Championship, defenseman Jacob Bengtsson has found his new home. Earlier today, the Toronto Marlies, AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced they had signed Bengtsson to a one-year AHL contract beginning in the 2024-25 AHL season.

One of the more unheralded members of the Boston College Eagles, Bengtsson had spent the last three years playing for Lake Superior State University. In those three combined seasons, Bengtsson played in 100 games for the Lakers, scoring six goals and 57 points while earning a role as an assistant captain in his junior season.

Transferring to Boston College for his senior year, Bengtsson played in 40 games for the Eagles, scoring three goals and 14 points in total while earning a +21 rating. Even though the Marlies were able to sneak into the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, Bengtsson will have to wait until after the conclusion of summer to make his debut with the organization.

Other snapshots:

  • In today’s Game 2 matchup against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Panthers will be without forward Ryan Lomberg as he is out with an illness (X Link). Taking his place in the lineup will be forward Steven Lorentz, who managed 38 games for Florida over the regular season. It will mark Lorentz’s first postseason matchup since the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, as he skated in five games as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes.
  • After being recalled earlier today by the Edmonton Oilers, defenseman Philip Broberg was able to skate with the team in practice as they prepare to take a two-game lead over the Los Angeles Kings tomorrow night. Unfortunately, it does not appear as if Broberg will get to have that opportunity with the team, as Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic reports Broberg has been loaned back to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Fortunately for Broberg, he should not miss playoff action entirely, as the Condors begin their opening-round matchup against the Ontario Reign tomorrow evening.

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