Veteran defenseman Steven Kampfer announces retirement

Veteran blueliner Steven Kampfer has decided to call it a career.  Championnat’s Anton Nekrasov relays that Kampfer told fans during a meeting between them and his KHL Traktor team that he is retiring at the age of 36.

Kampfer surprised some by heading to the KHL last summer after spending the previous 15 years in North America.  He played in 59 games in Chelyabinsk this season and fared rather well offensively, tallying 10 goals and 22 assists to lead all Traktor blueliners in scoring.  He was also productive in their run to the Gagarin Cup Finals, picking up four goals and six helpers in 20 postseason efforts.

Kampfer played in 231 career NHL games over parts of nine seasons at the top level with four different teams.  The bulk of those came with Boston where he had 25 points in 113 games over two separate stints with the Bruins, bookending his NHL time.  Overall, Kampfer had 15 goals and 24 assists along with 305 blocks and 328 hits in just under 16 minutes per game at the top level.

He also played in 378 AHL contests over parts of 11 seasons.  His best year offensively at that level came back in 2022-23 when he posted 29 points in 59 games.  In total, Kampfer had 40 goals and 130 assists at that level.  All told, with over 700 professional games between the NHL, AHL, and KHL the 2007 fourth-round pick certainly had a solid career.  We at PHR wish Kampfer well in his retirement.