Steven Lorentz became a fixture in the Toronto Maple Leafs' bottom six, but a stacked lineup might push him out the door this summer.
He signed on a tryout back in 2024-25 and turned it into a real job on Toronto's fourth line, all grit and no fanfare.
Last season, Lorentz put up 18 points in 71 games, added two shorthanded goals, and finished at minus-2.
His last ten games told a quieter story, just three points and a minus-4 rating to close things out.
Numbers aside, the crowd building around him is the real headline this summer.
Nick Paul, Colton Sissons, Brandon Duhaime, Teddy Blueger, Jack Roslovic and Zack MacEwen all arrived to compete for bottom-six ice time.
Add Dakota Joshua to that group, and Toronto now has two full lines fighting for jobs Lorentz once held on his own.
New coach Jim Hiller inherits a crowded bottom six
Jim Hiller took over behind Toronto's bench last month, stepping in after a season that ended on a seven-game losing streak.
The Maple Leafs finished 32-36-14, allowed 299 goals, and slipped to 28th overall, a stretch nobody in that locker room wants to see again.
Roslovic scored 36 points last season and Blueger chipped in 17 in just 35 games, giving Hiller offensive options Lorentz has never really provided.
So where does that leave a fourth-liner who plays the identical role as three or four new additions?
It's a bit like showing up to a full parking lot with a reserved spot that just got repainted.
Dealing a well-liked depth piece feels cold, and moving Lorentz for futures might sting some fans who watched him grind his way onto this roster.
But Toronto is thin on open jobs and thinner on patience after last season, and that combination usually decides these things.
At $1,350,000 against the cap, Lorentz is cheap enough to appeal to a contender looking for penalty-kill help and a face-off option up front.
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Whether Toronto actually pulls the trigger before camp opens is another matter entirely, and Hiller's staff has plenty of other roster questions to sort through first.
Should the Maple Leafs trade Steven Lorentz this summer?
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