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The details are in on the anticipated Steven Lorentz and Max Pacioretty one-year contracts. Unsurprisingly, Lorentz came in at the league minimum of $775k. Pacioretty slots in slightly higher at $873,770 with a small performance bonus package built in for games-played achievements ($313k for 10 games played, and another $313k for 35 games played).

Connor Dewar elevated the team’s Kampf-Reaves fourth line after he was acquired before the deadline last season, and as Dewar works his way back from injury, it created the opening for Steven Lorentz to prove he could do the same. In preseason, Lorentz and his line generated enough positive shifts playing a hard north-south game and working the walls to earn this contract, and he capped it with a goal in the preseason finale, in addition to showing the versatility to take competent reps at center ice earlier in the preseason.

The question now is whether or not a Lorentz—Kampf—Reaves line can consistently create momentum within the game with offensive-zone shifts in real games against real NHL lines and also whether it can produce any offense at all in the process. It’s not set up as a line that can be trusted in important defensive situations, so it has to generate a little bit of something offensively in addition to the physicality it offers. Lorentz scored just once in 38 games and Reaves four times in 49 games last season. For when Dewar is fully up to speed, it’s noteworthy, in regards to Lorentz’s security in the lineup, that Dewar scored 11 goals last season, just two less than all of Lorentz – Kampf – Reaves combined.

Where Lorentz provides sensible fourth-line depth who can move in and out as needed, the Max Pacioretty addition has potential impacts (and perhaps some opportunity costs) further up the lineup.

A big guy who is strong on pucks. In the last game, he did a great job down low on some plays and drew a few penalties because he was strong on pucks and winning battles on the wall.

He has the ability to score goals. He has scored a lot of goals in this league with his shot, but I think he can be a really good player winning battles on the wall and hanging onto pucks in the offensive zone. That is how we want to play. We want to have o-zone time, hang onto pucks, and wear teams down. He can do those things for us.

– Craig Berube on Max Pacioretty

Craig Berube is demanding a simpler north-south game and heavier offensive-zone shifts out of his group and has been clear that he thinks Pacioretty can help with his frame, experience, and skill with the puck. The big questions regarding his performance, in addition to his ability to stay healthy throughout the year, concern whether or not Pacioretty’s skating allows him to get to his spots on the ice on time to be more productive than he was in Washington last season. There is also the matter of keeping his feet moving and tidying things up on the breakout, where he committed a few turnovers leading to goals in preseason.

The other major question concerns lineup decisions and whether or not Pacioretty plays in the top nine to start the season, which would shift one of Bobby McMann or Nick Robertson out of a top-nine wing position they’ve clearly both earned, if not bumping one out of the lineup altogether (Calle Jarnkrok’s health situation also plays a role here). Darren Dreger speculated that Pacioretty could begin as the #13, but it remains to be seen; he is a respected veteran, and the first game of the season is in Montreal, his former stomping grounds where he served as captain for three seasons.

The lines in Monday’s practice suggested McMann is on the outside looking in, which, based on his contributions in the second half last season, is harsh and potentially a self-imposed downgrade at LW. McMann is certainly faster than Pacioretty, plays hard, is better defensively on the half wall, has a solid frame himself, and scored 15 times last season to Pacioretty’s four, including a hat trick and two two-goal games.

The season begins with a back-to-back and three-in-four nights, so there will be plenty of opportunities to rotate different options throughout the lineup. But Brad Treliving has gone out of his way to mention McMann as a top-six forward and noted his absence from the Bruins series (due to injury) as an underrated factor in the outcome. It wouldn’t seem to make much sense to sit him for many (or any, really) games.

The $620k performance bonuses for Pacioretty are reasonably modest, but they are notable still in that if the Leafs use LTIR throughout the year, they will incur the cap overage penalty for 2025-26. It’s disruptive enough to accommodate Pacioretty in the lineup — as a top-nine-only type of player, and given the other options he’s taking minutes away from — as well as in the cap situation that he needs to make worthwhile by contributing notable offense.  

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