David Kampf has operated as a defensive-minded presence for the Toronto Maple Leafs throughout his four seasons with the club, while providing minimal offensive impact. Kampf was once again used in a fourth-line for the majority of the season, although a rash of injuries in December saw him briefly moved into a top-six role where he was miscast. Although Kampf provided solid value on the penalty kill, he couldn’t keep his place in the lineup upon return from injury and the Leafs will want to burn the tape entirely of the one playoff game he suited up for, a 6-1 capitulation in Game 5 against the Florida Panthers where the Core Four era immolated on the spot.
Kampf suffered an injury in April and as the Maple Leafs rolled into the playoffs on a 13-2-1 winning streak, head coach Craig Berube elected to stick with the lineup that closed out the regular season on a high. It may spell what’s next for Kampf and the Leafs, entering the final year of his contract.
How the year went
Kampf was a staple of the fourth line throughout the first two months of the season, although he provided minimal offensive impact, registering four assists before Christmas. The 30-year-old was valued for his strong work on the penalty kill and he maintained his reputation as one of the most defensively responsible players on the team. Kampf was placed on injured reserve on November 19, retroactive to November 16, and missed a month of action before returning on December 18 against the Dallas Stars.
As the Maple Leafs managed several injuries to their forward corps, Kampf was moved up the lineup prior to the New Year. Kampf scored his first goal of the season in his 500th NHL game, against the Detroit Red Wings on December 27. During a New Year’s Eve matinee against the New York Islanders, Kampf centred a line featuring William Nylander and Matthew Knies, where he certainly benefited from Nylander’s all-world playmaking and Knies’ direct approach to attacking the offensive zone. Kampf scored two goals in three games when paired with Nylander, but it was only a temporary solution and he returned to a fourth-line role upon Auston Matthews returning to the lineup from a lingering upper-body injury.
Kampf’s best work was on the penalty kill, where he was a staple of the Maple Leafs’ 17th-ranked unit. This is the nature of his game and while the Leafs’ bottom-six aren’t necessarily asked to score, he provided minimal impact at 5-on-5 as the team continued to experiment throughout the season with their combinations. Scott Laughton was acquired at the trade deadline and though he was initially envisioned as the team’s third-line centre, he was bumped to the fourth line, rendering Kampf redundant for the playoffs.
Throughout the playoffs, Kampf was one of the odd men out, a decision Berube attributed to keeping a winning lineup intact. Toronto dispatched Ottawa in six games, before squaring off against the defending champion Florida Panthers in the second round. After winning the first two games of the series, the Panthers came roaring back to tie the series, and Kampf was inserted for Game 5, while Berube did not reveal his lineup pre-game.
It was a performance to forget. During a 6-1 drubbing that will be remembered as Mitch Marner’s worst game with the Maple Leafs, Kampf was a net negative in minimal playing time. He sported a minus-two goal differential in 12:37, while Kampf, Laughton and Steven Lorentz were out-chanced 16-2 and outshot 7-0 at 5-on-5. It was a dreadful performance for every player involved but Berube had seen enough and Kampf was a healthy scratch for the remaining two games of the series.
Kampf enters the final year of his contract on a $2.4 million cap hit. And while he has minimal trade value, it’s likely that the Leafs try to package him in any potential trade, or attempt to move on from the 30-year-old, as he wasn’t a natural fit in Craig Berube’s system.
Statistical profile
| Category | Production | NHL rank |
| Expected goals percentage | 45.62% | T-544th |
| Goal differential | -4 | T-491st |
| Corsi | 45.55% | T-568th |
| Expected goals for per 60 | 1.78 | T-649th |
| Expected goals against per 60 | 2.52 | 64th |
| Individual expected goals | 4.6 | T-431st |
| Shooting percentage | 10.26% | T-236th |
This profile aligns with what we know about Kampf’s game: he is a defensively sound player but since he produces next to zero offence, playing an intelligent, risk-averse game often doesn’t matter. There could be some offensive regression in store as well, as Kampf received some unusual shooting luck this season. It’s not incumbent on the fourth line to drive play necessarily, but Kampf cannot be used as a penalty kill specialist and will need better returns at 5-on-5 to justify greater playing time in 2025-26.
Select highlights
Kampf’s 1st goal of the season in 500th career NHL game, Detroit Red Wings, December 27, 2024
David Kampf
14th player in Maple Leafs history to score in his 500th career NHL game pic.twitter.com/CQcF6c1iRj
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 28, 2024
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