Maple Leafs sign Stanley Cup champion to PTO

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, $2.1M 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-foot-4, 205-pound 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 2017-20.

The Leafs aren’t teeming with salary cap space, but they have room for a potential league-minimum pickup like Lorentz. They have $1.275M 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 percent 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.