Brad Treliving Eyes Immediate Contract Extension For Impressive Maple Leafs Forward
Brad Treliving may have found a nugget of gold when he signed Steven Lorentz, and he's impressed so much the Maple Leafs could be ready to give him an extension.
Originally signed as a depth option on a PTO this offseason, Steven Lorentz ended up translating a strong preseason into a one-year deal. Expected to add grit and defense to the Leafs bottom six, he's been a great addition to the new-look team.
It was previously discussed that Lorentz was in line for a possible extension, and though those talks have died down initially, his play as of late has reopened those discussions once again.
Steven Lorentz's Quietly Good Season
If you were to look at the scoresheet, Lorentz's numbers wouldn't pop off the page. Only scoring five points in 34 games, it's more about the underlying details of his game.
Providing Toronto with 87 hits already this season, along with 26 blocks. He hasn't been a big faceoff guy so his numbers have dropped there, but he still offers a great substitute for David Kampf if he needs a night off.
Alongside Connor Dewar, the duo were some of the best at shutting down opponents over the last few games and his relentless engine and constant pestering of opponents has paid off big for Toronto thus far.
He's also a Stanley Cup winner along with teammates Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Anthony Stolarz, coming over from the Florida Panthers as Brad Treliving tried to revamp his entire roster starting from the crease.
The veteran forward has played in five seasons with Carolina, San Jose, Florida and Toronto; he's registered 24 goals and 24 assists over that span, but owns a career 48.5% faceoff win percentage, and averages over 120 hits in that span.
The great news is that Lorentz will be a very cheap option for the Maple Leafs, and he's only making $875,000, so it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to see him get a two or three year deal for $1M per year.
It was one of the quieter signings for Brad Treliving this offseason but it paid off fantastic for him so far. Lorentz has added another gritty and energetic player to Craig Berube's offense, and he could be in line for a well deserved pay raise.
