Should the Canucks sign forward David Kampf?

For a team using a winger as one of its four centres for weeks now, the Canucks could surely plug Kampf into the middle on this roster as currently constructed. But what, exactly, would he bring to the mix?

In 59 games last season, Kampf scored five goals and added eight assists. Those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, but take a look at what the Canucks are getting from the centre ice position right now, and suddenly you can at the very least see a role for him here. A veteran of 536 NHL games, Kampf scored a career-best 11 goals in 2021-22 and posted a career-high 27 points the following year.

A career 51.4% faceoff winner, Kampf has finished with better than a 50% win rate in seven of his eight NHL seasons.

Last season, he led all Toronto forwards in shorthanded ice time, averaging 2:02 on the penalty kill per game. As a team, the Leafs were middle of the pack last season, ranking 17th on the penalty kill at 77.9%. Oh, what the Canucks would give to be anywhere close to that these days.

Kampf failed to make the Maple Leafs out of training camp, cleared waivers and was sent to the minors, where he played four games before stepping away to ponder his future. He was suspended without pay on November 2nd. Kampf had this year and next left on a four-year contract worth $9.6M ($2.4M annual cap hit). All of that has disappeared now that both sides have agreed to terminate the deal.

The biggest issue with signing Kampf to what would surely be a team-friendly ticket to get him back in the NHL isn’t finding a spot for him on the roster or in the lineup; it’s that Kampf is a depth piece at best and to slide him into a fourth line role would mean promoting Aatu Räty and/or Max Sasson to play higher in the lineup than they ought to. Then again, neither could produce less than Lukas Reichel has in his 10-game trial as a top-six centreman.

The Canucks have already travelled down Reclamation Boulevard with Reichel, with little to show for the low-risk proposition. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t consider a similar approach with Kampf. But with Teddy Blueger’s likely return from injury at some point this month, does adding Kampf really give the Canucks much more than they already have?

Again, Kampf’s biggest impact would likely come on a penalty kill that is in complete disarray, giving up 20 goals in the past 16 games – half of that total in the last seven games alone. He may not be the best penalty killer in the league, but he has to be better than the guys the Canucks are currently deploying. The team is dead last in the NHL in penalty killing at 66.7%. It is costing them games. For something near a league-minimum deal for the remainder of the season, is it worth spending a few bucks to give Kampf a chance?

Keeping the status quo on the penalty kill seems like a questionable strategy. So why not take a different approach? What’s the worst thing that could happen?