Ex-Leafs forward unexpectedly elevated to the top line with new team after leaving Toronto
Former Leafs centre David Kampf has quickly gone from being a disgruntled AHLer with the Marlies to the top-line centre in Vancouver, surprising everyone.
The Czech native wanted a chance to play for an NHL club and he got that in short order when he signed with the Vancouver Canucks, just two days later, to a one-year contract worth $1.1 million.
It remained to be seen how productive he would be with his new club, but with injuries mounting, primarily at the centre position, Kampf has gone from being an AHLer with the Toronto Marlies to a first-line centre with the Canucks within a month.
While he’s not producing like a first line centre, with no points in 10 games, he is still providing solid play on and off the puck, as he’s tallied a CF% of 51.4 and a FF% of 51.3 at even-strength against the toughest of matchups. If those figures hold up, he’d be in line for career highs in two very important analytical categories.
Kampf is also doing all the little things right as he has a 56.3% success rate at the face-off dot, is a key penalty killer, and giving the Canucks pivotal minutes (15:20 ATOI) in the top-6 while they deal with injuries to Elias Pettersson, Filip Chytil, and Teddy Blueger.
It was always going to be a tall task for Kampf to make an impact in Toronto after they acquired Scott Laughton, Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy, extending Steven Lorentz as well. With so few roster spots to fight for, the Leafs went in a different direction, which forced the disgruntled Kampf to seek greener pastures.
Even with injuries piling up at the start of the season, specifically to Laughton, the Leafs decided against calling up Kampf. The 31-year-old provided solid depth for the Leafs during his 4-year tenure, but it was time to move on with the cap being as tight as it was, and younger players trying to make their mark.
It will be interesting to see how long he remains a top-line fixture in Vancouver, but considering how their season is progressing, he could find himself shipped at the trade deadline to a contender looking for a depth centre.
Previously on Toronto Hockey Daily
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DECEMBRE 11 | 736 ANSWERS
Ex-Leafs forward unexpectedly elevated to the top line with new team after leaving Toronto
Do you think the Maple Leafs made a mistake in letting David Kampf go?
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