“The Toronto Marlies are playing tonight in Chicago in the American Hockey League, and he’s not with them. I was told there’s a possibility he could play tomorrow, but I think that’s unlikely,” he said. “David Kampf has taken a couple of days to kind of think about his future. Obviously, he’s not playing with the Maple Leafs right now; he’s in a bit of a roster and salary cap crunch situation, and he got a little bit frustrated. I think everybody understands, he wants to play in the NHL and he’s an NHL player.”
While it is unclear where he ends up or how his exit from the Leafs occurs, one thing that won’t be forthcoming is a buyout, according to Friedman.
“ One of the things that was being rumoured in the last couple of days, Ron, is that there’s been a couple of players – Conor Sheary was one, Brandon Saad was one, Filip Zadina was one – who terminated their contracts so they could get back to the NHL or find a better situation in the NHL,” he said. “ I’m not sure that’s going to happen. He still is owed about $4 million on his Toronto contract. But there’s no question that he’s taken some time this weekend to think about his future in the NHL, what he wants to do. We’ll see if the Maple Leafs can find a move this weekend for him, or to clear space, and or what next week brings him.”
Kampf is in the third year of a four-year contract he signed with the Leafs in 2023 that carries an AAV of $2.4 million. The 30-year-old centre appeared in 59 regular-season games last season, where he recorded 13 points (five goals and eight assists) while going scoreless in one postseason appearance.
Across four games played with the Marlies, Kampf has recorded one assist, four shots on goal, and is a minus-one.
