Daily Faceoff lists Max Domi and David Kampf as potential cap casualties

Daily Faceoff’s Scott Maxwell has named Toronto Maple Leafs forwards Max Domi and David Kampf as possible cap casualties ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.

Maxwell listed six potential candidates who could find themselves on a different team because the players would be needed to help make the salary work in a hypothetical move. Two such players were on the Leafs, and his reasoning for including both players was that Domi and Kampf make up a significant portion of the team’s salary cap—$3.75M AAV and $2.4M AAV, respectively—and are playing poorly in positions of need.

He pointed out that GM Brad Treliving signed the two to their respective contracts because he hoped they could fill the needs at the third and fourth-line centres, yet both have underachieved. Maxwell argued that while Domi and Kampf may not necessarily have fallen out of favour with the organization, neither has proven to be the solution to their needs at 3C.

“Domi lacks the defensive ability to drive a line as a center unless that line is sheltered, and those are minutes that the Leafs would rather their top six play from time to time to get their best scoring opportunities. Since Domi has just three goals and 19 points in 45 games and really only produces when he plays in the top six, he’s not providing the offense to compensate for his defensive inefficiencies.

For Kampf, it’s the complete opposite. He’s a steady defensive presence for the Leafs, and one of their most-used penalty killers, but he lacks the offensive upside you would hope for out of a true shutdown center. That’s forced him into a fourth-line role, and with how many bottom-six forwards the Leafs have in their depths, Kampf’s contract makes him expendable. You’d imagine that if the Leafs were upgrading their third-line center, they’d rather Pontus Holmberg be their fourth-line center at his more reasonable $800,000 cap hit.”

It is important to note that Domi and Kampf have a modified no-trade clause (M-NTC) in their contracts. Domi has a 13-team no-trade clause, while Kampf has a 10-team no-trade list, meaning they would have to agree to waive it for any hypothetical trade to get done.

Having said that, the Leafs have been operating near the salary cap ceiling for much of the season, and things will only get tighter once the likes of Anthony Stolarz and Calle Jarnkrok return to the fold. The other mitigating factor is that Treliving has stressed all season long that his top priority is to upgrade the centre position, and the team has been connected to all of the top rental options available. Reports in recent days suggest they are trying to go for as high as a 2C and are one of the teams that are interested in Buffalo Sabres centre Dylan Cozens.

Cozens specifically is a player who would be a perfect fit for the Leafs as he fills their needs now and into the future as a mainstay in their top six for years to come. But with his cap hit currently sitting at $7.1M AAV, Toronto would need to shed some significant salary to make it work, and that means guys like Domi and Kampf need to be considered as cap casualties to open up space for Cozens to slot in if Treliving and Kevyn Adams can get something done.

Other players that could be considered potential cap dumps on the Leafs that Maxwell didn’t mention would include Conor Timmins, Simon Benoit, and Matt Benning, as all three make well over $1M AAV. It is worth mentioning that, unlike Domi and Kampf, all three of the aforementioned players do not have trade protection, so Treliving can trade them away without having to ask for permission to waive a clause.

Whether it be this trade deadline or in the offseason, it appears that Domi and Kampf are the most likely candidates to be shipped out as cap dump casualties.