Steven Lorentz surprised but excited to play with Matthews and Marner: ‘Just gonna use my size’

The Toronto Maple Leafs shook up their forward lines at practice following a 3-0 shutout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

Although it wasn’t the drastic power play unit shakeup many were expecting (or hoping for), there was an element of surprise to seeing Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner remain together on the top line with Steven Lorentz skating on their left side. And nobody was more surprised than Lorentz himself.

“I’m used to looking a little lower down in the lineup for my name”, Lorentz told reporters with a grin at Monday’s practice. “I’m not gonna lie, I was a little nervous at first. Any time you’re playing with guys of that calibre, I’m fortunate, but you get a little bit bigger expectations at the same time.”

It’s true, Lorentz isn’t your traditional first-line candidate. His career high in points is only 19, and for the majority of his career, he’s been used in a bottom-six role. But to his credit, he’s managed to turn a professional tryout contract into a regular spot in the lineup, and with the Maple Leafs in need of a shake-up, Lorentz is one of the players who’s more deserving of a look higher in the lineup. The Kitchener-Waterloo native and lifelong Leafs fan made sure to note that he knows his role when playing alongside players like Matthews and Marner.

“I realize that I’m not up there to play that skill game that those guys [Matthews and Marner] are so good at, I’m there to do what I’ve been doing all year,” Lorentz said. “Just gonna use my size and speed to try and create space.”

Lorentz is leading Leafs forwards in hits by a decent margin with 115, and Matthew Knies is second in that department behind him with 93. Lorentz is second on the team in hits only to defenceman Simon Benoit, who has one more hit than him at 116. He’s managed to shine in a penalty-killing role this year, winning over the hearts of fans with a shot-blocking display a month ago and referencing former Leafs penalty-kill guru Tim Brent when talking about it later.

Lorentz said that he spoke to Matthews and Marner about playing on their line and said that they don’t want him to do anything that he’s not comfortable with.

“I talked to those guys individually after practice and said, you know, be patient with me, and they said ‘absolutely, don’t try to do anything out of your comfort zone”. Just go back, get pucks back, and we’ll do the rest. Just go to the net.”

Lorentz is in foreign territory with his new spot on the top line, at least for the time being, but he’s excited about the opportunity and plans to make the best of it, even if it’s only temporary. He and the rest of the Leafs will look to snap this little funk and get back in the win column when they host the Dallas Stars Tuesday night.

“If I do what I’m good at, they’ll do what they’re good at, and hopefully we’ll find some chemistry.”