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Steven Lorentz Heads to Toronto After Winning Cup with the Panthers

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3 months ago

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Steven Lorentz takes his lap around the ice after the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup with a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 on June 24 in Sunrise. // Photo courtesy @FlaPanthers

One of the final pieces of offseason business when it comes to the Stanley Cup champions is complete after Steven Lorentz has reportedly agreed to join the Toronto Maple Leafs on a professional tryout at training camp.

With Lorentz going to Toronto per NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, and Nick Cousins signing in Ottawa, that just leaves Kyle Okposo as a member of the Cup champion Panthers who has not disclosed plans for this upcoming season.

Okposo is rumored to be considering retirement although he has not made such a decision public.

Lorentz, 28, is not guaraunteed a spot on the Maple Leafs with the PTO after spending one season with the Panthers.

A highly-regarded fourth line player with the Panthers last season, Lorentz did not play much during the regular season after coming to Florida from San Jose in the Anthony Duclair trade.

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Florida signed both Lorentz and Kevin Stenlund to battle for the fourth-line center position, a job won by Stenlund.

That left Lorentz out in the cold a bit, as he spent almost two months of the season as a healthy scratch.

Only he worked on becoming stronger on the wing and turned into a valuable role player on the Panthers.

Florida will have, for the most part, a new fourth line this coming season with only Jonah Gadjovich returning: Stenlund signed with Utah; Ryan Lomberg went back to Calgary.

Lorentz will be joined in Toronto camp with former Panthers Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Anthony Stolarz.

“There were some tough days, and there were some days where the last thing I wanted to do was have a smile on my face because this is a job that I’ve worked at for my whole life,” Lorentz told Florida Hockey Now during the playoffs.

“At times, there was the feeling of it almost slipping away, and I did not know what the next step was in terms of getting another opportunity.”

When Lomberg could not go in Game 2 of the opening-round series against the Lightning, Lorentz stepped in and played a strong game.

In Game 3, he helped the Panthers to a 5-3 win with a goal and an assist and coach Paul Maurice kept him in the lineup as part of a revamped fourth line with Okposo and Stenlund.

“It says a lot,” Maurice said. “Especially because when we’re talking about players who don’t have a five-year deal, they can become disenfranchised. So they thought, when we [traded for] him, ‘Hey, great opportunity!’ And then he was in and out of the the lineup, and then when guys got healthy, he had a long stretch where he didn’t play for us.

“For a lot of people, myself included, they would say ‘well, I’m going somewhere else next year’ and for him to do that, stay in the fight, practice hard, work hard every day. He asked the coaches ‘What can I do to get better?’ But he wasn’t banging on the door every day. He respected the entire process of it.”

Although Lorentz played in just 38 of Florida’s 82 regular season games (46 percent), he played in 16 of its 24 playoff games (67 percent).

The Maple Leafs, if Lorentz makes it in Toronto, will be the fourth NHL team for the Waterloo, Ont., native.

A seventh-round pick by Carolina in 2015, Lorentz made his NHL debut with the Hurricanes in 2021. He spent the 2022-23 season with San Jose.

“This is pretty neat,’’ Lorentz said before the Stanley Cup Final started. He played in the first four games against the Oilers.

“Just reflecting back to where I was last year; I had been done playing for a couple of months by now. Watching on TV sucks, watching in general is no fun. As much as we could use a little rest, I just want to get this thing going. I am so excited to take another step toward my dream, and that is to win the Stanley Cup.

“To do it with a group of guys like this, it would be so special. Today is June 4, and hopefully we play toward the end of the month. We all know the end goal. As much as I want it to get started, I just want to enjoy it day-by-day, keep things in perspective.

“You don’t know if you’ll ever get back again.”

More FHN Coverage of the Stanley Cup Champion Panthers:
UP NEXT FOR THE FLORIDA PANTHERS
  • NHL Free Agency: Opened July 1
  • Nashville Predators Rookie Showcase: Sept. 13-16
  • Florida Panthers Training Camp, Fort Lauderdale: Starts Sept. 19
  • Florida Panthers Preseason: Sept. 22-Oct. 5
  • Florida Panthers Opening Night/Banner Unveiling: Oct. 8 vs. Bruins (ESPN)

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