Steven Lorentz was the latest example of an Ontario-born NHLer who grew up in the Toronto area joining his childhood team and fulfilling a longtime dream in the process. After winning a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in 2023-24, Lorentz signed a professional tryout with the Toronto Maple Leafs and eventually parlayed it into a one-year contract. Upon scoring some clutch goals early on in 2024-25 and winning over the hearts of fans with his passion for the game and physical style of play, he earned himself a three-year extension to remain in Toronto.

The 2025-26 season, on the other hand, was a disaster for all involved, and Lorentz was no exception. While he was about the furthest person to blame for the way the 2025-26 season went, nearly matching his career single season high in points in 11 fewer games, the team as it was constructed was not good enough and had several flaws that were exposed as the season went on. This was evident in the approach that new general manager John Chayka took this offseason, completely revamping the team’s forward group and investing in a top end defenceman and a top end goaltender in free agency.

Lorentz spoke about his excitement to reunite with former goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky along with the rest of the new additions shortly after free agency started.

“I’m definitely looking forward to seeing my guy, Bobby [Bobrovsky], and all the new signings,” Lorentz said. “It seemed like a lot of the signings were depth signings and guys who are going to play in the bottom six, so it’s always a pleasure getting to know those guys.”

Unfortunately for Lorentz, and to no fault of his own, the amount of moves up front may end up impacting his ice time. Specifically, the signing of Brandon Duhaime to a three-year contract. Duhaime, 29, spent the first few years of his career with the Minnesota Wild before a quick stop with the Colorado Avalanche and most recently, a stint with the Washington Capitals. His offence took a severe hit last season, with only nine points in 82 games. Granted, he had 21 points the year before, which is closer to his capabilities than last season was. But, in a similar vein to Lorentz, both players are fan favourites who are strong defensively and can play physically. They both also bring excellent speed, which seemed to be a requirement for Chayka to show interest in you this summer.

The Leafs are almost certainly done the brunt of their offseason to-do list, but as of right now, Lorentz is the 13th forward. He’s good enough to play on an NHL fourth line, and he will no doubt be given every opportunity to win a job on the opening night roster, but the reality is that you’re probably not going to have both Lorentz and Duhaime in the lineup at the same time given how similar their skillsets are. From a salary point of view, Duhaime’s $2.6 million over the next three years is much tougher to justify benching than Lorentz’s $1.35 million over the next two years. It seems like, if the Leafs show up to training camp with the same roster they have now, Lorentz might be destined to start the season on the bench. If this happens, we might see a situation where Chayka trades him to a team in need of NHLers to do right by the player, but who knows? He grew up a Leafs fan and by all accounts, loves Toronto, so maybe this is an adjustment he’s willing to make.

All of this is moot if the Leafs find themselves in a position where both players crack the lineup, but that seems rather unlikely. Either way, Lorentz is thrilled with how the offseason has gone and is a Leaf until further notice.

“It’s definitely exciting. Obviously, when your team doesn’t do so well, there’s going to be some changes in the offseason. We made a lot of changes from the top down,” Lorentz said. “They moved on from some guys, and that’s the unfortunate part of the business because they were all good guys and good people. Again, that’s what happens sometimes when you underperform, especially in such a big market with high expectations.”

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