The Maple Leafs have signed forwards Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz to one-year offers after they attended coaching camp on skilled tryouts, the staff announced Monday. They’ve additionally signed pending restricted free agent defenseman Cade Webber to a two-year extension, holding him below contract by way of the 2026-27 season.
Pacioretty’s deal is a 35+ contract with a cap hit of $873,770 with as much as $626,230 in further efficiency bonuses, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli stories. He’ll obtain half these bonuses if he performs 10 video games this season and all if he performs 35. The overall potential worth of the contract is $1.5M. Lorentz’s deal is a simple one-way, league-minimum pact value $775K, per Seravalli. Webber’s contract carries an $825K cap hit and is a two-way deal in 2025-26 earlier than changing into a one-way pact in 2026-27, provides Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic.
Pacioretty, 35, is seeking to get again on observe in Toronto after a pair of Achilles tendon tears price him a lot of the previous two seasons. After taking part in simply 5 video games with the Hurricanes in 2022-23, he signed with the Capitals final summer season. He made his season debut after finishing his restoration in January, however his goal-scoring output plummeted from years previous. ’Patches’ shot simply 4.2%, scoring 4 targets in 47 contests whereas including 19 assists for 23 factors.
The previous Canadiens captain is a six-time 30-goal scorer, although. Whereas he seemingly gained’t land top-six minutes in Toronto and thus has just about no likelihood of replicating that feat, his taking pictures share ought to rebound to its ordinary 10 to 12% and put him again on observe for double-digit scoring totals in a third-line function if he stays wholesome. That’s actually an enormous if, contemplating he hasn’t performed greater than 50 video games in a season for the reason that 2019-20 marketing campaign. Nonetheless, he’ll seemingly open the season because the staff’s 3LW alongside Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McMann or Nicholas Robertson.
Lorentz, 28, brings a Stanley Cup ring and 230 video games of NHL expertise to Toronto’s fourth line. The pure middle performed 16 of the Panthers’ 24 playoff video games final 12 months en path to the franchise’s first championship, scoring twice and including an help for 3 factors with a -1 score whereas averaging 7:07 per sport. He gained’t be a lot of an offensive issue, averaging seven targets and 15 factors per 82 video games all through his common season profession. However he’s serviceable sufficient within the faceoff dot, successful 48.7% of his attracts, and his possession high quality numbers at even power are traditionally above water. He’ll seemingly begin at left wing, with David Kämpf centering the Leafs’ fourth line.
Webber gained’t be making his NHL debut within the subsequent few days. He’s waiver-exempt and can should be assigned to AHL Toronto immediately so the Leafs can cut back their opening-night roster to a most of 23 gamers. Nevertheless, the 2019 fourth-round choose stayed within the combine till the top and has seemingly impressed the Leafs since signing his entry-level contract on the finish of final season. The stay-at-home defender is coming off a four-year run at Boston College, the place he served as an alternate captain final 12 months and posted six assists and a +15 score in 38 video games. He ought to nonetheless be in line for his NHL debut in some unspecified time in the future this 12 months, even when it’s not throughout opening week.
Pacioretty’s oddly particular cap hit has a lot to do with Toronto optimizing its long-term injured reserve seize to open the season, giving it as a lot monetary flexibility as potential whereas coping with some accidents. As outlined by The Rating’s Kyle Cushman, the Leafs are anticipated to submit an opening-night roster with simply $1 in cap house pending a number of strikes, together with returning high ahead prospect Easton Cowan to his junior staff, putting Fraser Minten on season-opening injured reserve along with his excessive ankle sprain, putting Connor Dewar on commonplace IR and putting Jani Hakanpää, Calle Järnkrok, and Dakota Mermis on LTIR.
