The Toronto Maple Leafs are struggling right now. They are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, a third straight defeat. The team will also be without its star player, as Auston Matthews is expected to miss time with an injury. Now, the Leafs have decided to move on from a player who has not given them production, terminating the contract of David Kampf.
According to Chris Johnston of The Athletic, Kampf has been placed on unconditional waivers with the purpose of terminating his contract. Teams will have through 2 p.m. on Friday to claim the veteran forward, but if he goes unclaimed, the former Maple Leaf will become an unrestricted free agent.
That will create some dead cap space for the Leafs. Kampf will still have a cap hit of $1.25 million for this year and next year from a contract extension he signed before the 2023-24 campaign with the franchise.
Kampf joined the NHL as an undrafted free agent out of the Czech Republic. He signed a two-way deal with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2017, joining the club in the 2017-18 season. He played in Chicago for four years, having his best performance in 2018-19. The Czech native found the back of the net four times with 15 helpers.
He would then sign as a free agent with the Leafs and have two solid campaigns. In 2021-22, he lit the lamp 11 times while adding 15 assists, plus he had two playoff goals. The next year, he beat the goaltender seven times and added a career high 20 assists. This led to the contract extension.
Still, his play has declined, and he was placed on waivers to start the season. This allowed Toronto to send him to their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. He played in just four games with one assist. Kampf was suspended by the franchise after leaving the Marlies before a road trip. He will now be looking for a new home for the rest of the season.
The Maple Leafs are now 8-8-1 on the campaign, sitting tied for sixth in the Atlantic Division. They return to the ice on Thursday night to host the Los Angeles Kings.
