Former Leafs centre David Kampf has a nightmare Canucks debut
Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
David Kampf finally got the fresh start he was looking for in Vancouver but his debut for the team did not go as planned for the veteran forward.
the Toronto Maple Leafs placed David Kampf on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a mutual contract termination, which gave him a fresh start.
After the mutual termination of his contract with the Maple Leafs, Kampf signed a one-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks, who were looking for center help.
He made his debut against the Florida Panthers on Monday, but things could not go much worse.
How David Kampf's Canucks debut unraveled at both ends of the ice
Kampf was on the ice for three goals against and got caught low in the zone on multiple plays, including the Panthers chance shown above where he collapses below the goal line and leaves the slot wide open:
Taken from that screenshot, you can see Kampf in the middle of two other Canucks behind the net, but in doing so left a wide open Panthers player with about ten feet of space in front.
Also inefficient offensively, Kampf had no shots on goal, a minus-3 and you can point to his face-off wins as the only bright spot of his debut.
From a Leafs perspective, Vancouver taking on Kampf's next contract slot effectively freed Toronto to open minutes and cap space for younger, cheaper options.
Kampf's tenure in Toronto started well with 11 goals, 26 points and strong defensive results in year one -- but his offense fell off and his role shrunk as the roster got deeper down the middle.
With Toronto's acquisitions this summer, it pushed Kampf out of the lineup and it set off a chain reaction from there.
He was waived by the team, sent to the American Hockey League, played sparingly, got hurt, then left the team and was subsequently suspended then terminated.
It's a wild turn of events for a player who at one point was a key part of the Maple Leafs' bottom six and one who carved out a niche but important role as a first-unit penalty killer.
Clearly this was a rough debut for Kampf but it shouldn't take away from the fact he is still able to provide something to the Canucks. He's barely played and it was his first NHL game this season -- he'll take a bit of time to get acclimated.
It's only one game, but his rough debut in Vancouver does underline why the Leafs were comfortable moving on.
