Maple Leafs re-sign Lorentz, but don’t qualify Holmberg

Article content

It doesn’t quite rank with Bill Zito keeping all three free agents of the two-time champion Florida Panthers, but the Maple Leafs were glad to get Steven Lorentz on a new three-year deal Monday to head off the winger’s potential departure.

Article content

After leaving the Panthers last summer, Lorentz quickly turned his professional tryout contract into a one-year minimum wage deal with Toronto, then became an effective, infectious fourth-liner for the team he cheered for as a kid.

Article content

Article content

The Waterloo-area native returns with a comfortable cap hit for the club at $1.35 million. He played in 80 games and tied his career high of 19 points.

“There was no doubt in my mind I’d be back again,” Lorentz said on a Zoom call. “In my heart, talking to Tree (general manager Brad Treliving) I wanted to stay and we just made it work.

“I wanted the longevity,” he added of likely leaving some money on the table had he gone to market Tuesday. “I’d like to play my whole career here, wear the Leaf and play in front of friends and family. I wouldn’t want to go to war with anyone else.”

Article content

Article content

Lorentz is also getting married at the end of July.

“I’m happy it’s done and I can put my foot on the gas (for training camp),” he said. “The DNA hasn’t changed with the GM and the coach (Craig Berube), we’ll still be the team that wants to work hard and come back in June.”

It’s been a wild long weekend for the Leafs that began with winger Matthew Knies signing a six-year deal on Sunday, a trade with Utah for winger Matias Maccelli and the conclusion of the Mitch Marner saga with his trade to Vegas before signing an eight-year, $96-million deal.

Article content

“Whatever team got him, they’re getting a great teammate,” Lorentz said of Marner. “He has a bright career ahead of him.”

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

Lorentz said Game 1 of the playoffs against Ottawa was perhaps his favourite moment last season.

“The loudspeakers, the towels waving … I looked at Scott Laughton on the bench and said, ‘This is sick.’ I remember the energy. There’s not been a bad day here, other than when we lost out (to Florida in Game 7).”

Lorentz was asked about Zito’s “rat trick” of getting Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand re-signed.

“It’s impressive in the salary cap era,” he said. “Looking back in the playoffs, we gave it our best against them. That’s a team we look (to emulate) and we didn’t back down. We’ll make some tweaks to get over that hump.”

Article content

Q AND A ON RFAs

After signing Knies and spending most of Monday sorting the Marner trade, the Leafs had to file qualifying offers to maintain bargaining rights with their restricted free agents ahead of Tuesday.

Most prominent in that group were Knies, forward Nick Robertson and goaltender Dennis Hildeby, but there was surprisingly no mention in the team’s release of Pontus Holmberg.

The Swedish utility forward had stubbornly stayed in the lineup all season under Berube, who praised his work. Treliving is not scheduled to speak until Tuesday afternoon to comment on all of the recent moves, but it’s believed Holmberg’s arbitration rights posed a possible problem down the road. Toronto could circle back on him once it’s known if any other team covets Holmberg on Tuesday.

Other Leafs RFAs qualified were draft picks who are now on the Marlies: Defencemen Topi Niemela and William Villeneuve. Toronto also extended one to centre Roni Hirvonen, even though he’s playing in Finland for at least this year.

Lhornby@postmedia.com 

X: @sunhornby

Article content