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Maple Leafs Suspend David Kämpf Without Pay

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The Maple Leafs have suspended center David Kämpf without pay for departing their AHL affiliate while on assignment, PuckPedia reports. As such, the $1.25MM cap charge Kämpf incurred while in the minors is temporarily struck from their books until the situation is resolved.

Recently, there was talk of a potential mutual contract termination between Kämpf and the Leafs. The 30-year-old has not suited up for Toronto this season after clearing waivers and heading to the minors late in training camp. He initially accepted the assignment, but the defensive specialist only registered one assist and a -1 rating in four games before leaving the team late last month. Today, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported there’s been “pushback” against a contract termination.

That’s not particularly surprising. Doing so would mean Kämpf walking away from the remainder of his $1.075MM salary for this season, plus the $1.325MM signing bonus and $1.075MM base salary he’s owed for 2026-27 before he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He’s only just past the halfway point of the four-year, $9.6MM extension he signed with Toronto in 2023.

Others have taken the contract termination approach in the past few years, most notably Brandon Saad, Conor Sheary, and Filip Zadina, in order to remove their albatross contract as an obstacle toward returning to an everyday NHL role. In the vast majority of cases, it’s worked out, at least in terms of the player being able to find an everyday role again. Recouping the money they surrender by doing so doesn’t always happen, though.

It’s not as if Kämpf is completely dead weight. He’s still a serviceable fourth-line piece who can contribute two-plus minutes a game shorthanded. He did fall out of a regular role on a deeper Toronto forward group last season, though. His 59 appearances in 2024-25 were his lowest since the COVID-shortened 2021 season, and he scored five goals and 13 assists with a -1 rating. He’s 51.4% on faceoffs for his career, and while he doesn’t have a history of strong possession impacts, he started over 70% of his shifts in the defensive zone at even strength in all of his four years as a Maple Leaf so far.

Maple Leafs Still Hoping To Trade Depth Forward, Benoit Scratched Due To Illness

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  • With a cap and roster crunch looming in Toronto when Joseph Woll needs to be activated off LTIR, the Maple Leafs will need to make some moves sooner than later. Some have suspected that they will be waiving players or parting with an asset to get a team to take on a contract but David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that they’re not taking that approach just yet.  Instead, they’re still focused on landing a positive-value return in the form of draft capital.  With Woll not on a conditioning stint yet, they still have some time but sooner than later, their hand will be forced, barring further injuries.
  • Still with Toronto, prior to tonight’s game against Utah, the Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Simon Benoit would be scratched due to illness. The 27-year-old has been a regular on the third pairing this season, picking up two assists, 21 blocks, and 33 hits in 13 games while averaging over 17 minutes a night.  His absence may have played a role in Easton Cowan’s demotion as Dakota Mermis, who is also currently waiver-exempt, was needed in the lineup to cover for Benoit.

Maple Leafs Activate Scott Laughton, Reassign Easton Cowan

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5:00 p.m.: As expected, the Maple Leafs confirmed they’ve activated Laughton from the injured reserve. Additionally, the team shared that they’ve reassigned Cowan in a corresponding roster move. The 20-year-old scored one goal and four points while averaging 12:33 of ice time throughout his 10-game debut with Toronto.

11:39 a.m.: Maple Leafs center Scott Laughton will be activated from injured reserve ahead of tonight’s clash with the Mammoth, he told reporters (including Luke Fox of Sportsnet). Toronto does not have an open roster spot and will need to create one to activate him. That could mean an IR placement for Steven Lorentz, who has sat out two games with an upper-body injury, meaning his placement could be retroactive to Oct. 29. If he’s also available against Utah, the team could send down rookie Easton Cowan or Dakota Mermis. They could also waive either Sammy Blais or Calle Järnkrok, who are both projected scratches.

Laughton hasn’t had a chance to suit up in the regular season. The 31-year-old anchored Toronto’s fourth line during the preseason, often flanked by Lorentz and Cowan, a combination most thought would stick but hasn’t gotten the chance to play together. He sustained a lower-body injury during a match late in camp and was ruled week-to-week, forcing him to start the season on IR.

Toronto paid a steep price to acquire Laughton from the Flyers at last season’s trade deadline, parting ways with winger Nikita Grebenkin and a conditional first-round pick in 2027. For that return, Philadelphia retained half of his remaining salary, which means the pending UFA only counts for $1.5MM against Toronto’s cap. That makes his underwhelming performance down the stretch last season more palatable if it’s a sign of things to come for the balance of 2025-26. The 12-year veteran only managed two goals and four points in 20 regular-season games for the Leafs before a two-assist performance in 13 playoff games.

Some of that can and should be attributed to a decrease in role. Laughton had been a top-nine fixture in Philadelphia for the past five-plus years but was immediately relegated to fourth-line and penalty killing duties upon arrival in Toronto. His ice time dropped from 15:06 per game with the Flyers to 13:06 per game with the Leafs, and his most common linemates last season were Lorentz and Järnkrok, who only combined for nine goals and 26 points themselves.

Nonetheless, scoring hasn’t been a problem for the Leafs this year. Their stars have held up their end of the bargain in the wake of Mitch Marner’s departure, and the team’s 3.62 goals per game is third in the league. They’re allowing as much as they’re generating, though, in part due to underwhelming goaltending from Anthony Stolarz and Cayden Primeau. Nonetheless, Laughton’s defensive acumen is what Toronto is looking forward to the most as they try to build upon what currently sits as the fifth-worst defense in the league.

Matias Maccelli Made A Healthy Scratch

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Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matias Maccelli has been made a healthy scratch for today’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, reports The Hockey News’ David Alter.  The move comes as Toronto sits 23rd in the NHL, having had a slower-than-expected start to the season. Their 6-5-1 record places them 23rd in the league standings at this early point in the season. While a player getting healthy scratched is a relatively routine occurrence and not hugely noteworthy on its own, tracking Maccelli’s standing in Toronto is of a heightened importance due to the transaction he was involved in over the summer.

William Nylander, Steven Lorentz Return To Practice

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will get a major boost to their forward core tonight. Earlier today, TSN’s Mark Masters reported that William Nylander and Steven Lorentz were on the ice for Toronto’s practice. Further, multiple reports after practice indicated that Nylander would return to the lineup tonight.

Nylander has been dealing with a lower-body injury for the last little while. Since the Maple Leafs’ game against the Buffalo Sabres on October 24th, Nylander has only appeared in one game, missing three. Still, he’s been more than effective when in the lineup, scoring three goals and 15 points in nine games for Toronto this year.

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Latest On David Kampf

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Over the offseason, the Maple Leafs were looking to find a new home for veteran center David Kampf but no trade came to fruition.  As a result, he was ultimately waived in training camp and, after going unclaimed, he was assigned to AHL Toronto.

Considering that GM Brad Treliving signed the 30-year-old to a four-year, $9.6MM contract a little more than two years ago, this was an outcome that wasn’t expected.  The plan was that he’d continue to anchor the fourth line while providing strong work at the faceoff dot and on the penalty kill.  But his role was reduced last season under Craig Berube and other lower-cost players now occupy his spot on the roster.

This season, Kampf had only played in four of seven games with the Marlies heading into the weekend.  He didn’t suit up on the road in Chicago either as  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (video link) that the veteran is taking a couple of days to ponder his future.

In recent years, we’ve seen a handful of players walk away from guaranteed money in the hopes of getting a more favorable opportunity in the NHL or simply to get back into the NHL.  Among that group are Conor Sheary, Brandon Saad, and Filip Zadina.  It’s possible that Kampf is pondering a similar route although he’d be walking away from more than $3MM in money owed between his salary this season and next plus next season’s signing bonus.

While that possibility is on the table, TSN’s Darren Dreger recently noted that the Maple Leafs are still trying to find a new home for Kampf.  However, with the team needing to free up cap space to accommodate Joseph Woll’s pending return from LTIR, they’re not necessarily in a spot where they can afford to take a similarly-priced player back.  Meanwhile, retaining salary would also make getting back to compliance a little trickier although they are dealing with a $1.25MM dead cap charge while Kampf is in the minors.  Technically, retaining less than that amount would still save them some cap room but it would tie up a salary retention slot through June 30, 2027.

If Woll’s return is the pressure point on the team, that could still be a week or two away as it’s expected that he’ll need a conditioning stint with the Marlies, one that would last three games but could be extended by two more with league approval.  However, if Kampf doesn’t want to wait that long, he could try to force the issue sooner but he’d likely have to walk away from the rest of his contract to do so.  If that were to happen, his contract would come off Toronto’s books entirely beyond what has already been accrued over the first few weeks of the season.

 

Maple Leafs Place Chris Tanev On Injured Reserve, Recall Dakota Mermis

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Sunday: Toronto has reversed this move after Tanev left Saturday’s game on a stretcher in the third period. Tanev will head back to IR, while Mermis has been recalled to the active roster, per Lance Hornby of Post Media. No specifics of Tanev’s injury, or timeline, have been revealed, though Hornby points out that Toronto did not feel the need to place Tanev on long-term injured reserve.

Saturday: The Maple Leafs announced that Tanev has officially been activated.  As expected, Mermis has been assigned to the minors to make room for Tanev on the active roster.

Friday: Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev told reporters today, including David Alter of The Hockey News, that he’s cleared concussion protocol and is likely to play Saturday against the Flyers. He’ll need to come off injured reserve to do so, meaning the team must create a roster spot before tomorrow night. Dakota Mermis was the player recalled when Tanev landed on IR last week and could return to AHL Toronto after sitting as a healthy scratch in three straight games.

Tanev will have missed 11 days and four games when his absence comes to an end this weekend. He was on the receiving end of a hit on Oct. 21 against the Devils that caused him to leave the game early.

Before exiting the lineup, the 35-year-old had been his usual stable self. The stalwart rearguard only had one assist in seven games, but his +3 rating is still second among Toronto defensemen despite the absence, and the Leafs were allowing just 1.7 goals per 60 minutes at even strength when he was on the ice. The raw shot attempt numbers aren’t in Tanev’s favor so far – his 46.3 CF% at even strength is 19th out of 22 skaters to play a game for Toronto this season – but that has more to do with a lack of offense coming from Toronto’s forwards when he and usual partner Jake McCabe were on the ice. The duo’s 2.27 xGA/60 is still the lowest among the Leafs’ three regular pairings.

Toronto’s defense needs all the help it can get with its goaltenders not holding up their end of the bargain. After receiving some of the best puck-stopping in the league last season, the Leafs’ goaltenders have been the main culprit behind their underwhelming 5-5-1 record through October. Anthony Stolarz has only managed a .886 SV% in eight starts, while waiver-claim backup Cayden Primeau, playing in place of Joseph Woll (who’s on the verge of returning from an extended personal leave), has an .838 mark in his three starts.

Chris Tanev Medical Update

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The Toronto Maple Leafs issued an update today on the health status of defenseman Chris Tanev, who had to be helped off the ice during the team’s road win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Maple Leafs said Tanev “was evaluated overnight in Philadelphia for precautionary purposes” and has since “been discharged” and will return to Toronto. Ignoring Tanev’s readiness to play, the injury he suffered last night was worrying simply regarding Tanev’s personal health and safety. While the team did not confirm further details of the injury, it’s encouraging to see Tanev fit enough to be discharged and allowed to return to Toronto.

William Nylander Misses Another Game Due To Injury

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  • Toronto Maple Leafs star winger William Nylander missed another game due to his lower-body injury. The 29-year-old has been managing the injury for some time, his classification originally beginning as a game-time decision on Oct. 27 before deteriorating to an “out” designation for each of the Maple Leafs’ last two games. Nylander has been Toronto’s best player early this season with 15 points in nine games. While last night was a difficult one for Toronto sports overall, the Maple Leafs managed to register a strong 5-2 win in Nylander’s absence.

Late Night Notes: Tanev, Makar, Wutzke

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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev was taken out of Saturday night’s game on a stretcher, following a collision with Philadelphia Flyers winger Matvei Michkov halfway through the third period. It wasn’t clear exactly where Tanev took the bump, though he was fitted with a head immobilizer.

It is a terrible outcome in what was meant to be Tanev’s first full game back from a previous injury. He was activated off of injured reserve earlier on Saturday, after missing 11 days and four games with a concussion sustained on October 21st.

Tanev remained a core part of Toronto’s blue-line prior to his October 21st injury. His plus-three through seven games is the second-highest among Toronto defenders. He also leads the blue-line with four takeaways on the year.

Toronto could be pushed to recall Dakota Mermis, who was assigned to the AHL to make room for Tanev’s return. Mermis has no scoring through one appearance in the NHL, and two in the AHL, this season. He could continue to fit outside the lineup, should Toronto continue leaning on Philippe Myers and Simon Benoit in a nightly role.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have assigned forward Taylor Makar to the AHL. Makar made his NHL debut on Saturday. He posted one hit and no shots in just six minutes of action. The night was also Taylor’s first chance to play alongside brother Cale Makar at the NHL rank. Despite playing for the same junior and college programs, the two hadn’t formally played together, largely thanks to Cale being three years Taylor’s senior. With this move, the younger Makar will now return to the AHL ranks, where he’s already accrued four points and 14 penalty minutes in nine games. He’s playing through his rookie AHL season, after earning a five-game sample in the league following the end of his senior year last season.
  • Minnesota Wild goalie prospect Chase Wutzke has been traded in the WHL. He moved from the Red Deer Rebels to the Moose Jaw Warriors in a lofty trade – with one first-round, two second-round, one third-round, and two fourth-round draft picks headed back to Red Deer. Wutzke will bring starting upside to the Warriors. He’s posted a .889 save percentage in nine games so far this season, a that mark sits above both of Moose Jaw’s goaltenders. That should earn Wutzke the starter’s crease sooner rather than later, and give Moose Jaw one more piece to help push towards a long season.

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