Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner Paired Up With Shocking New Linemate at Practice
Practice for the Maple Leafs on Monday saw the team's top line add a very unexpected linemate in order to bring some defense and balance to the club.
With the team coming off two rough games, being outscored 9-3 and getting shutout by the tired and weary Vancouver Canucks, it's a rough spot for Toronto especially after such a dominant start to the 2025 season.
The top line against the Carolina Hurricanes was awful with both Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner being a minus-6, and going into the Vancouver game they weren't great either. It's a worrying sign after the line finally looked like they were in sync with each other.
So Craig Berube decided on Monday to not only experiment with his top line, but he added a very unexpected face in order to add some much needed defense and grit.
Steven Lorentz's Ascent From Fourth Line To First
Lorentz isn't exactly a name you'd come to expect to lineup on the top line, but he's impressed Craig Berube enough to earn the spot.
Adding him with Marner and Matthews will be a great way to add defense, hitting, forechecking and some surprisingly untapped offensive potential.
Signed by the Leafs on a PTO in the offseason, only a season removed from winning a Stanley Cup, he earned a one-year deal with the team and was expected to add some fourth-line grit and defense.
He's done that and then some, often being a spark-plug for the team and not worrying about putting his body on the line.
He has 31 blocks and 115 hits, often seen scurrying around the ice to find someone to bodycheck.
Not to mention he's quietly been a solid offensive producer with four goals and five assists, showing signs of the production he had in Carolina where he put up 19 points.
He's also Toronto's clutch scorer, with two game-winning goals (more than Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies).
It's that type of complete 200-foot game that has earned Berube's trust, and it will give the team a new dimension that is focused on adding a lot of energy and try to provide some more space for their stars to get things going again, and also help them avoid another minus-6 night.
While he hasn't signed an extension yet, there's always the possibility the team offers him a deal, and for good reason.
Steven Lorentz was signed to add depth, but he's added so much more and a big part of Toronto's success.
