Toronto Maple Leafs sign 2024 Stanley Cup champion to PTO

With training camps getting underway in just over two weeks, a number of unrestricted free agents will land professional tryout contracts around the league and it looks like a Stanley Cup champion is on his way to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be signing centerman Steven Lorentz to a professional tryout contract and will join the team for training camp and preseason games in the coming weeks.

Lorentz, 28, became an unrestricted free agent back on July 1st, one week after he won the first Stanley Cup of his career as a member of the Florida Panthers. Florida made some big decisions with their roster at the beginning of July with Lorentz, Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson among those who moved on.

In 38 games with the Panthers during the regular season in 2023-24, the Kitchener, Ontario native had three points (one goal, two assists), ten penalty minutes and was a minus-nine. He followed that up with three points (two goals, one assists) in 16 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

While bringing in Steven Lorentz doesn't address the Maple Leafs' need, which is to sign a left winger, having depth never hurts, especially down the middle and it's going to be interesting to see if he'll be able to turn his PTO into contract for the 2024-25 campaign. If he does end up earning a contract with the Maple Leafs, he'll more than likely be in the fourth-line center role to begin the year.