The Toronto Maple Leafs under GM Brad Treliving have gone in the opposite direction of former GM Kyle Dubas over the last two seasons and are likely to do the same this summer. Treliving had an excellent offseason one year ago, signing veteran goalie Anthony Stolarz and blueliners Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to long-term deals, but he was also successful in plugging some holes up front with the budget-conscious signings of forwards Steven Lorentz and Max Pacioretty to one-year deals.
Both wingers came in on professional tryout contracts and earned spots with good training camps. The 29-year-old Lorentz signed league-minimum deals and was a mainstay on the fourth line and penalty kill, scoring 19 points (8 goals, 11 assists) in 80 games, and only compiling nine penalty minutes. Pacioretty was fully recovered from a pair of Achilles tears that caused him to miss over 150 games the past three seasons, but still missed more than half the year with a variety of injuries.
The former Habs captain did show up when called upon in the playoffs (unlike many of the club’s core group), scoring eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 11 games.
While there has been no formal announcement, there is an assumption that Lorentz will be offered a long-term extension along the lines that Treliving extended to bottom-of-the-lineup vets like Simon Benoit, Philippe Myers, and Bobby McMann, but after the playoffs, it sounded as if Pacioretty was headed towards retirement, since he indicated that the season was hard being away from his family.
A report from James Mirtle of the Athletic indicates that Pacioretty has had a change of heart, after the Leafs expressed considerable interest in keeping him. The 36-year-old seemed to fit in well in Toronto and also provided a level of physicality that has been in short supply.
One more year of Patches seems about right. Lorentz, however, should be given only a 2 year minimum contract. There are plenty of similar players, in the league, that can fill the hole on the 4th line going forward.