Steven Lorentz's decline proves the $4M 'Contract Trap' sabotaging the Maple Leafs' grit
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Steven Lorentz had a great season last year and earned himself a $4-million extension. This year he has half that, and is another example of the pattern of signings killing Toronto's depth.
Last year, Toronto added Steven Lorentz on a PTO deal in the offseason, and he took the team by storm. He had 19 points, was a plus-six, and added 199 hits in only 10:33 TOI. For a guy who was trying to sign a deal in September it was a great story.
That earned him a big contract extension, and while he certainly earned a raise -this year he's been a microcosm of what he was last year.
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He has only four goals and 14 points, is an even plus/minus in more ice time (11:41) and he's only got 116 hits. That physicality has slipped, the supplementary offensive game isn't there, and it seems like he's a little less motivated.
Makes sense, considering Brad Treliving already paid him a ton of money so why try harder?
Signing a three-year, $4.075-million deal this past offseason, Lorentz already got the highest deal he's ever signed, and there didn't seem to be as much bite in his game than there was when he was playing for more money.
In the bottom-six, you can't commit that much because year to year they're more prone to decline than stars or more elite players. There's a reason teams tend to rotate out a bottom-six unless there's a deep dynasty like the Florida Panthers, but even then they added Brad Marchand to complement them.
Brad Treliving is rewarding fake grit while the stars get bullied
The names that Treliving brought in to give the team toughness looked great on paper but in practice it was anything but.
Ryan Reaves never really wanted to fight last year, but this year he's fighting everything that moves. Lorentz was a good depth player last year but not worth the same as Bobby McMann.
Michael Pezzetta just came up this past week and while he's showing some fire, it's way too late in the year. Thankfully, he's not that cheap but if you sign the guy; play him.
Max Domi was supposed to be a gritty, irritating forward but instead of the opposition he's just annoying Maple Leafs fans. He doesn't hit, he rarely fights, and his offensive game has slipped year after year.
But look at the prices paid: Domi is $3.75-million for fourth line production, Reaves was paid $1.35-million and Lorentz followed, meanwhile Pezzetta was a shade over $800,000 so of all the signings it's the AHL guy who's properly paid.
All this for supposed toughness and players who wouldn't touch a contentious situation with a ten-foot pole. That's F tier money management.
The Lorentz collapse proves veteran loyalty is killing the Maple Leafs' future
It's a lot of money tied up in veterans who didn't provide much value, meanwhile you had names like Jacob Quillan who could have been useful, as well as Nikita Grebenkin who was later shipped to Philadelphia.
But the most egregious one is Alex Steeves. This was a guy begging to be called up, was the Marlies all-time scorer, and Toronto flat out ignored him. He signed with Boston and now thrives there.
These guys who get one year in Toronto and do well have to realize while they are part of the machine, when you play nine minutes a night with minimal impact maybe it's not you who is contributing the most.
Treliving sees them wanting to stick around and rewards them for one good season without realizing the consequences of his actions.
Brad Treliving horribly mismanaged Toronto's bottom-six and tried to bring in some sandpaper but came out with cardboard as fans watched him explain the final product.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 15|836 ANSWERS Steven Lorentz's decline proves the $4M 'Contract Trap' sabotaging the Maple Leafs' grit Did Toronto make a mistake signing Steve Lorentz long-term? | ||
| Yes | 497 | 59.4 % |
| No | 339 | 40.6 % |
| List of polls | ||