Jim Lorentz – Junior and Minor Pro
Lorentz played three years of major junior hockey with the Niagara Falls Flyers. In his first year, the Flyers were crowned Memorial Cup champions, beating the Edmonton Oil Kings in five games. That team was loaded with future NHLers like Bill Goldsworthy, Bernie Parent, Jean Pronovost, Derek Sanderson, Don Marcotte and Gilles Marotte.
Jim Lorentz Collection
In his final year with Niagara Falls, Lorentz scored 33 and assisted on 59 for 92 points while playing the full 48 game regular season schedule. He was second on the team in scoring behind just Derek Sanderson. In the league, Jim was fourth in goal scoring, second is assists and third in the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy behind Sanderson and Mickey Redmond of the Peterborough Petes.
In 1967-68, Lorentz starred with the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League. Over 70 games, he scored 33 and assisted on 50 while earning Rookie of the Year status. His 33 goals placed him second in the CHL, just one goal behind leader Len Haley of the Tulsa Oilers. Jim was fourth for assists and second in the overall scoring race, two points behind Ron Ward, also of the Tulsa Oilers.
In his rookie season, the Blazers finished first overall in the eight team CHL. However, OKC fell in the opening round to the Tulsa Oilers in second place. In a primitive playoff format, the two division leaders faced off in the first round.
In his second and final season in the minors, Lorentz increased his offensive numbers for Oklahoma City while playing less games. Over 56 regular season games, he once again scored 33 goals and added 68 assists for 101 points. He was named CHL most valuable player and won the scoring championship.
Jim was sixth in goal scoring, seven behind leader Juha Widing of the Tulsa Oilers. Lorentz’s lead in the scoring race was a hefty 21 points over the next competitor. The Blazers once again finished first overall and reached the finals before losing to the Dallas Blackhawks. Jim also saw his first NHL action with eleven games with the Boston Bruins.
Jim Lorentz – NHL
Lorentz played 659 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1968-69 and 1977-78. Over that time, he scored 161 goals and assisted on 238 for 399 points. He saw action with the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres. In 54 playoff games, he added 22 points.
In 1969-70, Jim played a full season with the Bruins and appeared in eleven of 14 playoff games as Boston won the Stanley Cup championship. He would come close to a second Stanley Cup in 1974-75 with the Sabres reaching the finals before losing out to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Prior to the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft to populate the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks, the Bruins traded Lorentz to the St. Louis Blues for a first round pick in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. That pick turned out to be Ron Plumb.
After a full season with the Blues in 1970-71, Jim’s suitcase got a workout in 1971-72. He started the year with St. Louis but after 12 games, he was traded to the New York Rangers with Gene Carr and Wayne Connelly for Andre Dupont, Jack Egers and Mike Murphy. After just seven games with the Rangers, Lorentz was traded to the Sabres for a second round draft pick. He played 33 games with Buffalo to end the season.
Over his NHL career, Lorentz surpassed the 20 goal mark on four occasions. His best offensive season was in 1974-75 when he scored 25 and assisted on 45 for 70 points over 72 games with the Sabres.
Jim Lorentz – Rookie Card
The rookie card looks to be ‘Frankensteined’ with Lorentz’s head pasted on someone else’s body. He is wearing number 8 in the image. Barclay Plager wore number 8 during that time period while Jim would wear 19 during his short stay with the Blues. However, the body portion doesn’t match any of Plager’s hockey card images.
Nearly all his hockey cards refer to him being a former CHL player of the year and scoring leader.
Lorentz appears in the 1978-79 O-Pee-Chee set but he retired before the season started. On the front of his card it states, “Retired from active playing.”
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1964-65 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA | 43 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 20 |
| 1965-66 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA | 38 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 47 |
| 1966-67 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA | 48 | 33 | 59 | 92 | 79 |
| 1967-68 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CPHL | 70 | 33 | 50 | 83 | 105 |
| 1968-69 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 1968-69 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 56 | 33 | 68 | 101 | 67 |
| 1969-70 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 68 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 30 |
| 1970-71 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 76 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 34 |
| 1971-72 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 1971-72 | New York Rangers | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971-72 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 33 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 12 |
| 1972-73 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 78 | 27 | 35 | 62 | 30 |
| 1973-74 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 78 | 23 | 31 | 54 | 28 |
| 1974-75 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 72 | 25 | 45 | 70 | 18 |
| 1975-76 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 75 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 18 |
| 1976-77 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 79 | 23 | 33 | 56 | 8 |
| 1977-78 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 70 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 12 |
| NHL Totals | 659 | 161 | 238 | 399 | 208 |