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Steven Kampfer

Arizona Coyotes Sign Steven Kampfer

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A long-time NHL farmhand is sticking around. After heading to the Arizona Coyotes organization after the trade deadline in a minor-league deal, journeyman defenseman Steven Kampfer is extending his stay in the desert on a one-year, two-way contract for 2023-24, the team announced. PuckPedia confirms he’ll earn the league minimum of $775K at the NHL level, $225K at the AHL level, and is guaranteed a minimum of $250K next season.

Kampfer didn’t see any NHL ice last season but was under contract with the Detroit Red Wings, spending most of the season with their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids. A March 9 trade sent him to the Coyotes for future considerations, though, and he recorded seven points in 15 games down the stretch with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. It was the 34-year-old’s first season back in North America after a one-year absence spent with the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan, which allowed him to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The 2007 draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks has consistently been an eighth/ninth defenseman option for NHL teams, seeing ice in seven straight seasons from 2014-15 to 2020-21. He’s spent most of his career with the Boston Bruins (in two separate stints) but has appeared in 231 NHL games overall, scoring 39 points. He’s also appeared in NHL games for the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and New York Rangers.

While he’s likely destined for Tucson again next season, it wouldn’t surprise many to see Kampfer in at least a few games with the Coyotes’ blueline, given its paper-thin state.

Detroit Red Wings Re-Assign Steven Kampfer

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The Detroit Red Wings recalled veteran blueliner Steven Kampfer from their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, three days ago. Today, after a stay on the roster that did not include an NHL game played, the Red Wings have re-assigned Kampfer back to the AHL.

This move did not come with any other announcements, although seeing as the Red Wings have a whopping seven players on injured reserve, the natural first place to look to is there. Since this re-assignment leaves the Red Wings with just six healthy defensemen on their active roster, it could be an indication that veteran Olli Maatta is nearing a return to full health.

In sending down Kampfer the Red Wings have sent down an offseason acquisition that has fit in well with their AHL affiliate. Through 19 games so far this season Kampfer has 10 points. The 34-year-old defenseman signed in Detroit after a strong 2021-22 in the KHL. In 46 games for KHL side Ak-Bars Kazan, Kampfer had 30 points.

Kampfer is a veteran of over 230 NHL games and could be in line to play in his first NHL game since 2020-21 if he is called up once again. In the meantime, though, he’ll head back to Grand Rapids and resume his role as one of the team’s top all-around defensemen.

Detroit Red Wings Place Robert Hagg On Injured Reserve

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The Detroit Red Wings currently sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division but after dropping two in a row, are in danger of falling down the standings. As they try to get back on track, they’ll have to compete without depth defenseman Robert Hagg, who was placed on injured reserve today. In his place, Steven Kampfer has been recalled from the minor leagues.

This is exactly why the Red Wings signed Kampfer in the offseason, bringing him back from a year spent playing in the KHL. The U.S. Olympian has more than 230 games of NHL experience and can essentially step directly into a third-pairing role if needed. Now 34, Kampfer last appeared in the NHL during the 2020-21 season as a member of the Boston Bruins. He played in 20 games that year, recording five points and averaging nearly 17 minutes a night. Through 19 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins, the right-shot defenseman has ten points.

Hagg, meanwhile, is having a season to forget so far, missing a good chunk of training camp and now hitting injured reserve after just 13 appearances. The 6’2″ defenseman is a big, physical force on the ice but has never offered much in the way of puck-moving ability.

There’s actually an argument to be made that Kampfer is a better fit overall for the Red Wings, though losing defensive depth is never a good thing. Detroit is dealing with a number of injuries at the moment, with six players now on IR. The team is back in action this evening against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Red Wings Sign Steven Kampfer

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The Detroit Red Wings have gotten a head start on the offseason, making a free agent signing while other teams are still in the midst of playoff action. The Red Wings announced today that they have signed free agent defenseman Steven Kampfer to a one-year contract.

Kampfer, 33, is a veteran of 231 NHL games and last played in the NHL in 2020-21, getting into 20 games for the Boston Bruins. He played this season for Kazan Ak-Bars of the KHL, potting 11 goals and 30 points, which ranked third on the team. Kampfer also represented the United States at the Beijing Olympics, scoring four points in four games. That level of offense hasn’t shown up at the top level in North America, though, as Kampfer only has 39 points in those 231 career NHL games.

But, even with that said, Kampfer is fresh off of his most productive season as a professional player. His play in the KHL and at the Olympics was legitimately impressive, so the Red Wings are making this signing as a bet that the Ann Arbor, Michigan native has made the necessary changes to his game to allow him to be a more productive defenseman in North America than he was in his past AHL/NHL seasons.

Steven Kampfer, Oscar Dansk Will Not Return To KHL

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The KHL season came to close last week, as CSKA Moscow took home the Gagarin Cup for the second time in four years. Now the offseason has begun, but roster building in the KHL this summer will not be as easy as most years. Due to the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, which has caused teams and foreign players alike to flee the KHL, teams must first determine which import players are staying, regardless of contract status, before they can determine the holes they need to fill. Two such departing players, both of whom have contracts in place for 2022-23, have been revealed. Russian source Championat reports that NHL veterans Steven Kampfer and Oscar Dansk will both be released by their respective KHL teams.

Kampfer, 33, was playing in his very first season outside of North America in 2021-22, moving on from seven consecutive seasons with at least one NHL game played to sign with Ak Bars Kazan on a one-year deal. Kampfer was enjoying a terrific start to the season in the KHL when he signed a one-year extension in December, at which time Kazan indicated their hope that he would be around for more than just 2022-23 as well. Of course, this new deal arrived before the invasion of Ukraine, which shifted the status quo for many imports and Kampfer was no different. While he continued to excel on the ice, finishing with 30 points in 46 games and four points in six playoff games, the Championat article implies that Kampfer only stayed with the team through the postseason to facilitate his release from his next contract with Ak Bars. Now that the season is over, the two sides have agreed to move forward with a termination.

Dansk, 28, signed a two-year contract with Spartak Moscow last summer after playing the previous three seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights organization. Dansk ultimately ended up losing the starting job to Alexei Krasikov, but still performed well in 17 regular season appearances. However, it was Dansk and not Krasikov who got the call in the postseason as the hot hand late in the year. Dansk was stellar in five appearances, recording a .933 save percentage and 1.73. Yet, Dansk also seems to have wanted to depart the team well before the playoffs but felt he could not. Championat quotes the netminder as saying he felt “stuck” by the terms of his two-year deal, which required he pay back salary from year one if he did not honor year two. Dansk says that his agent is now working to resolve the issue, but that he definitively is not returning to Russia.

As both Kampfer and Dansk last played on NHL contracts before jumping to the KHL, they could look to return this offseason. However, with each having found success overseas this season, they might also stay in Europe, with Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland all providing opportunities for elite pro play and should be even stronger next season with the exodus of import players from the KHL.

Jake Sanderson In COVID Protocol Ahead Of Olympics

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The Olympics men’s hockey tournament is set to start next week and the U.S. squad is hoping that a talented young defender will be able to join them for the first game. Jake Sanderson is in COVID protocol according to Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald and has not yet traveled to Beijing to join the rest of the group. Sanderson remains in Los Angeles, where the team hopes he will provide negative tests to be cleared to travel.

Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff adds that Steven Kampfer and Andy Miele are also in the protocol, though they are already in Beijing and isolating there. Losing both Sanderson and Kampfer would certainly be a big blow to the U.S. squad, as they were expected to carry significant responsibility on the back end.

The fifth-overall pick in 2020, Sanderson is a star for the University of North Dakota and will likely soon be patrolling the blue line of the Ottawa Senators. Still just 19, he missed a chance to secure his second World Junior gold medal when the tournament was canceled earlier this year. He’ll hopefully be going for Olympic gold instead, though his status is still very unclear with just a few days before the event is set to begin.

Canada meanwhile has canceled practice for a second consecutive day according to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, though no explanation was given at this point.

Steven Kampfer Signs KHL Extension

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It was somewhat surprising when veteran defenseman Steven Kampfer got a jumpstart on his free agency this summer by signing in the KHL before the NHL market had even opened. Kampfer was coming off of a 20-game season with the Boston Bruins, bringing his career NHL games played total to 231. While used mostly as a depth option in his career, the 33-year-old had proven himself as a dependable puck-mover in a pinch. For whatever reason, Kampfer decided to move on from that role and inked a one-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan, putting his NHL future in doubt.

Well, it seems Kampfer wasn’t thinking too much about an NHL future anyhow. Playing outside of North America for the first time, Kampfer has excelled with Kazan, recording 17 points in 36 games for the third-best mark on the team right now and on pace for a career high in single season production in his pro career. While Ak Bars currently sits tenth in the KHL league standings, they are in the bottom third of the league in scoring making Kampfer’s contributions even more valuable. The team had decided to show their appreciation with an extension, locking up Kampfer for one more year. The team announced a new one-year deal with their “leader”, with the team release calling him one of the best defenders in the KHL.

Ak Bars also slipped in an “at least” when talking about Kampfer’s one-year extension, so his KHL career could still be far from over. If the veteran keeps producing and wants to keep playing, it seems he has found a home in Kazan. While this all but puts an end to a possible NHL return, it is nice to see Kampfer get the recognition that he wasn’t always shown in North America. The University of Michigan product played nine years in the NHL with four teams, but was never better than in his rookie season with Boston in 2010-11, when he recorded career highs in points and time on ice in 38 games. Traded five different times, much of Kampfer’s career shortcoming can be attributed to a lack of opportunity and loyalty. He has seemingly found both in the KHL.

Steven Kampfer Signs With KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan

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Steven Kampfer’s NHL playing days may very well be over. The veteran defenseman has decided not to wait for the NHL market to open later this month, opting to make the move overseas. The KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan have announced a one-year contract with Kampfer, who will be playing outside of North America for the first time.  Kampfer, who is set to turn 33 in September, has served as a depth player for much of his career and may find it difficult to earn another NHL contract following this move.

Kampfer is best known for his two stints with the Boston Bruins, both to begin his NHL career and now likely to end it as well. The University of Michigan product played nine years in the league with four teams, but was never better than in his rookie season with Boston in 2010-11, when he recorded career highs in points and time on ice in 38 games. Kampfer was traded to the Minnesota Wild the following season, the first of five trades in his career that led to stints with the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers (twice) as well. The most recent trade came in 2018, when he returned to Boston from the Rangers as part of a package for former teammate Adam McQuaid. Kampfer played well in his depth role over the last three years, proving leadership in the AHL but performing when called upon in the NHL as well.

However, Kampfer’s departure from the Bruins is not at all unexpected. It was in the midst of Boston’s playoff run this season that it was first leaked that Kampfer was negotiating with Ak Bars and seemed likely to sign with the team. Ironically (or perhaps not so ironically), just a few days later the team announced that Kampfer would undergo season-ending hand surgery. With Kampfer missing his second consecutive postseason, when Boston has needed blue line depth both years, combined with his early planning to depart, it all but guaranteed that he would not return to the Bruins.

Joining Kazan, Kampfer will undoubtedly play in a greater role than he did with Boston and perhaps at any time in his NHL career. However, it is unknown if he will be able to top his expiring two-year, one-way 1.6MM contract. Nevertheless, he joins a talented roster that includes recent Bruins teammate Par Lindholm and other former NHLers and NHL prospects, while Montreal Canadiens forward Jordan Weal is also expected to officially sign once his season is over. Ak Bars has Gagarin Cup hopes this season and could look to Kampfer as their veteran leader to show them the way.

Evening Notes: Carlo, Olympics, OHL Draft

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs are down to just four series and the start of the off-season is still a ways away, but that doesn’t mean the hockey news cycle slows down. There have been quite a few notable announcements today, including one that involves one of those few remaining active teams. After taking a hard, but clean check from New York Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck, Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo was forced out of Game Three on Thursday with an apparent head injury. Carlo has a history of concussions, including missing time earlier this season, and after his head made contact with the boards, the big defender struggled to get back up and had to be helped off the ice. The expectation of course was that Carlo could miss considerable time as a result of the check; however, the initial reports suggested that Carlo was feeling good after the game. Well, the Bruins will sit Carlo for at least Game Four, the team has announced, perhaps just out of an abundance of caution. The hope is that Carlo can return sooner rather than later, especially with fellow blue liners Kevan Miller and Jakub Zboril also injured and Steven Kampfer out for the year. In the meantime, Jeremy Lauzon will be elevated to Carlo’s spot on the second pair and Jarred Tinordi will sub into the lineup.

  • It appears that the NHL is using the ongoing IIHF World Championships to work with the international governing body on an agreement for the upcoming Olympics. TSN’s Gord Miller relays word from IIHF officials that “significant progress” has been made on terms of NHL participation in the 2022 Winter Games. The two sides have been discussing the topic in-person for the first time while in Riga, Latvia this week and appear to be on the right track. Olympic participation in Beijing, China in 2022 and Milan, Italy in 2026 was negotiated as part of last year’s Collective Bargaining Agreement extension, but was pending an agreement between the NHL and IIHF as well. It seems that such an agreement is now getting close.
  • The OHL wrapped up their two-day Priority Selection Draft on Saturday. The opening of the draft made headlines on Friday, with American Quentin Musty being selected first overall and Oakville Rangers U16 program contributing five of the next ten picks. However, it was pick No. 267 today that stole the show. The Sarnia Sting selected goaltender Taya Currie with the pick, making her the first female player to ever be drafted into the OHL. It is quite the honor for Currie, but she now faces the difficult decision of committing to the men’s junior game or instead reserving her NCAA eligibility to play the women’s game at the next level.

Bruins Issue Injury Updates On Several Players

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With Boston set to be off for a few days while they await the winner of the Penguins-Islanders series to see who their next opponent is, GM Don Sweeney provided updates (video link) regarding several of their injured players.

Ondrej Kase’s postseason has come to an end before it even began.  The winger was limited to just three games this season due to concussion trouble although one of those came in the regular season finale, providing some hope that he’d be able to suit up for the Bruins at some point in the playoffs.  Instead, he has been shut down and at this point, it seems rather unlikely that he’ll be tendered a $2.6MM qualifying offer this summer.

As for Kevan Miller, who was injured in Game Four against Washington, Sweeney indicated that he is doing well but is early in the recovery process which suggests he isn’t expected to be back anytime soon either.  Fellow blueliner Steven Kampfer has undergone hand surgery and is not available either.

However, they may get some good news on the injury front as Sweeney stated that he’s hopeful that blueliners Jeremy Lauzon and Jakub Zboril will be available for the second round.  Lauzon suffered a hand injury in the series opener against Washington while Zboril sustained an upper-body injury in the final game of the season (also against Washington).

With the other East Division series going until Wednesday at the earliest, Boston will probably be off for the better part of a week so there should be ample opportunity for other players nursing smaller aches and pains to recover before the puck drops on the second round.

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