Ex-Leafs Forward David Kampf Has Horrendous Debut With Vancouver Canucks

Last week, David Kampf was placed on waivers and had his contract terminated by the Maple Leafs after Brad Treliving was unable to find a team willing to take on his $2.4M cap hit for the remainder of this season and next.

Kampf had been unhappy about his situation in Toronto and was not interested in following through with his AHL assignment, desiring an NHL role. After taking a leave of absence to ponder his future, the Leafs granted his request to terminate his deal.

Kampf quickly signed a one-year deal with the Canucks this week worth $1.1M for the remainder of the season. The Canucks wasted little time getting the 30-year-old into their lineup, having him make his debut on Monday night.

Unfortunately for Kampf, his debut came against a team he knows well, the Florida Panthers, and things did not go well for the Czech native. Kampf was on the ice for the Panthers' first three goals of the game.

While he had respectable numbers in the face-off dot, going 11-4, he finished minus-3 in just under 15 minutes of ice-time.

Although he struggled in his debut, much of that can be attributed to having not played in almost two weeks and not seeing regular NHL action since last season.

A serviceable defensive center, many fans of the Leafs were surprised that Kampf did not get an opportunity to work his way back into a full-time role with the club as the team continues to deal with a slew of injuries down the middle.