Maple Leafs Poised to Extend Forward After Impressive Start to the Season

Lorentz, a native of Kitchener, Ontario is one of the league's most endearing personalities. Incredibly humble and always with a smile on his face, Lorentz has earned praise from teammates, coaches, and fans alike for his personality, kindness, class, and ability to play a passionate, hard-nosed style of hockey.

So it's such a beautiful sight to see Lorentz living out his childhood dream while also being a big part of why Toronto's 3-1-0 start has been so defensively sound. Being arguably the best fourth-line player Toronto has had since Matthews was drafted, Lorentz's skillset is indispensable and a big reason if Toronto goes deep into the playoffs.

The Maple Leafs have taken notice too, as there have been reports that the team could sign Lorentz to an extension already at some point this season, a huge step forward for someone who signed on a PTO during the summer:

It's not surprising to hear that the team is looking to extend Lorentz. He plays a specific role so well that he's often the glue that keeps things together. A faceoff demon, fantastic penalty killer, and someone unafraid to throw their body (either at people or at flying pucks) he ticks all the boxes and then some for head coach Craig Berube, and brings a certain aura to the ice when he's on; he seems to slow the game down and play it as his pace at times.

Not known for his scoring ability, Lorentz has only registered 22 goals and 23 assists in his five seasons thus far in the NHL, but did have a breakout year with San Jose where he had 9 goals and 10 assists. He's already got a goal and assist this season and needs only two points for the rest of the year to surpass his total last year with the Panthers. He shines in the defensive and grittier part of the game, averaging 115 hits in his career, nearly 49% in the faceoff circle, and averaging double the amount of takeaways to giveaways in his career and will give Craig Berube the exact type of player he thrives on coaching.

It's been 15 years in the making for the Maple Leafs forward, and for Lorentz, it must feel like Christmas every day being able to wake up and put on the blue and white. At least this time it's his jersey, and not just some pajamas.