Steven Lorentz knocked out of the game by hit to the head.

The Toronto Maple Leafs may have suffered a big blow on Saturday night.

The Maple Leafs faced off against the Detroit Red Wings in an important divisional game for both teams and unfortunately for the Maple Leafs it would prove to be a costly matchup.

During the course of the game, Maple Leafs veteran forward Steven Lorentz was on the receiving end of a big open ice hit from Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot. The hit appeared to catch Lorentz right under the chin, with his head absorbing a significant portion of the contact, causing his head to spin around as Chiarot made contact.

Lorentz would quickly leave the game after contact was made, fueling further speculation that his head had been the primary point of contact and that the hit had left him with a significant injury to deal with.

Here is a look at a few replays of the moment of impact:

And again:

There won't be any good news coming out of this either, with the Maple Leafs officially confirming that Lorentz was knocked out of the game and would not return just moments ago. The Maple Leafs did not provide an official update other than to say that Lorentz is dealing with an upper body injury, but again it seems likely that the impact to his head is what caused the issue here.

Lorentz has played a significant role for the Maple Leafs since earning a contract with the team after a professional tryout offer in 2024, earning himself a 3 year contract with an average annual value of $1.35 million per season after his first season with the Leafs. Replacing the hard nosed style and intangibles that Lorentz brings to the table will be very difficult for the Leafs.