David Kampf becomes a quality trade chip after gold medal win

The host nation in Czechia were crowned winners of the 2024 IIHF World Championships on Sunday after defeating Switzerland by a score of 2-0. David Pastrnak opened the scoring in the third period of a tightly played contest before David Kampf iced the game with an empty netter with 19 seconds remaining.

It was a fantastic tournament for Czechia, who initially finished third in their group behind Switzerland and Canada with a 4-1-2-0 record. They then shutout the Americans in the Quarter-Finals and blew out the Swedes in the Semi-Finals by a score of 7-3 before taking care of business against the other surprising finalist in Switzerland. The Swiss downed the Canadians on Saturday in a shootout to earn a berth in the gold medal round on Sunday.

After a quiet season with the Maple Leafs, it was good to see Kampf enjoying himself as he posted 2 goals and 7 points in 9 games with a plus-9 rating. Roman Cervenka paced the club with 11 points, followed by Lukas Sedlak who had 10 points and Dominik Kubalik with 8.

Kampf scored just 8 goals and 19 points for the Leafs in 78 games played this season, a drop from his first two seasons with the Leafs where he scored 26 and 27 points, respectively in 2021-22 and 2022-23. In the post-season, Kampf added just 1 assist in 7 games against the Boston Bruins, which further illustrated the frustration felt by Leafs Nation.

With Toronto looking to make radical changes this summer, Kampf is a name brought to the forefront of discussions, but perhaps after a strong tournament at the World Championships, his trade value has risen even more. He carries a modified no-trade clause and has 3 years remaining with a cap hit of $2.4 million. It seems like a lot to pay a 4th liner.

If Brad Treliving is looking to keep Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi beyond this season, every penny matters, including Kampf's $2.4 million cap hit. He would be a lot easier to move because teams are always looking for hard-working bottom-6 centers. He has averaged 14:42 ATOI in his three seasons, has averaged 200+ minutes shorthanded in the last 2 seasons, and has won over 50% of his draws.

For a team looking to bolster their bottom-6, Kampf could be viewed as a nice pickup.