When David Kampf was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs before the 2021-22 season, many Maple Leafs’ fans wondered why. Why would the team take a chance on a player who was considered so valueless that the Chicago Blackhawks didn’t even see fit to qualify him?
And, really, given the fact that he had only scored a single goal during the 2020-21 season, why would the Blackhawks re-sign him? But the Maple Leafs’ brain trust had a plan and saw Kampf as a part of it.
Kampf Surprised Everyone in 2021-22
To cut right to the chase, last season with the Maple Leafs, Kampf turned into a quality third-line center. He might have been the best value contract the Maple Leafs had on their team. He turned into the kind of reliable and capable player every NHL team would want.
Not only did he become the literal center of the Maple Leafs’ successful shutdown third line, he even had far more offense than he had ever shown during his time with the Blackhawks. He never missed a single game, and he scored double-digit goals with 11.
When the year was over, he had put together a career season by adding 15 assists to his 11 goals, for a total of 26 points. His previous best season had been 19 points in 2018-19.
Maple Leafs’ Fans Were Wrong about Kampf
Kampf turned from a player his former team didn’t want into a valuable player last season. Many wondered if it would be a one-off. Now it seems, from what Maple Leafs’ fans have seen thus far in 2022-23, that it was not. Kampf is having another career season – his second in a row.
At the same time, he remains the same reliable defensive presence on the ice that he was last season. This season, Kampf has moved down to center the team’s fourth line. It changed nothing. He still gets tossed out with his line to put out fires in the defensive zone. And, he’s continuing to score.
Kampf Is Surprising Again This Season
In short, Kampf is surprising this season. He’s generating more production than expected – again. On October 23, he scored his second goal of the season to help push the Maple Leafs to a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
For Kampf, it was his fourth career game-winning goal. His last game-winner was on December 11, 2021, against none other than the team that didn’t re-sign him – the Blackhawks.
Then, on October 28, the 27-year-old Kampf scored a goal on four shots in the team’s 4-3 loss in overtime to the San Jose Sharks. While many believe the fourth-liner is probably scoring well above his abilities, who’s to say? He keeps on surprising. In last Friday’s 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kampf registered an assist. A goal here, an assist there – it’s all adding up.
Kampf Is Giving Solid Return on His Fourth-Line Role
The bottom line (no pun intended) is that Kampf is generating much more offense than anyone expected. And, he’s doing it again this season. At the same time, he’s continuing to play sound defense. The Czech center is also making his presence felt on the team’s penalty kill.
Currently, he awaits the Penguins game on Tuesday, he sits with three goals and four assists in 15 games. He’s also a plus-3, which for someone who makes as many defensive-zone starts as he does, is quite amazing.
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