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Maple Leafs Place David Kämpf On Unconditional Waivers

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12:58 p.m.: The Maple Leafs officially announced Kämpf’s waiver placement. They’ll clear $1.25MM in cap space tomorrow as a result of the move, not his full $2.4MM since he’s already carrying a reduced impact in the minors. Kämpf retains this year’s signing bonus as part of the termination, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

10:13 p.m.: The Maple Leafs will place center David Kämpf on unconditional waivers this afternoon for the purpose of a mutual contract termination, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. Assuming he clears tomorrow, he’ll be free to sign a new contract with an NHL club at any time.

The 30-year-old Kämpf is in the third season of a four-year, $9.6MM contract. It hasn’t panned out as Toronto general manager Brad Treliving had hoped when he signed it in June 2023. Kämpf has not played for Toronto’s NHL squad this season. His $2.4MM cap hit and the Leafs’ flurry of depth forward additions over the summer left him out of a roster spot when training camp ended, and he landed on standard waivers. After clearing, he was assigned to AHL Toronto for his first minor-league action since the 2017-18 season.

Initially, Kämpf reported to the Marlies. He suited up for their season-opening back-to-back games but didn’t play again until Oct. 26 and 29. After that, Kämpf took a brief leave to mull his options for an NHL return, which the Maple Leafs made clear wouldn’t be in Toronto. The Leafs initially looked to find a trade partner but were unsuccessful. Soon after, they suspended Kämpf without pay as his leave hit the one-week mark. A mutual contract termination became the clear goal, but there was uncertainty over whether Kämpf would need to return a prorated portion of the $1.325MM signing bonus he was given before the season as part of the transaction.

Today’s news indicates the NHL and NHLPA have come to a resolution on that front. Kämpf will now be walking away from the remainder of the $1.075MM base salary he was owed for this season, plus the $2.4MM total compensation he was due in 2026-27.

His four-year contract with the Leafs came on the heels of a career-best season for Kämpf, who’d initially joined the franchise on a two-year, $3MM pact in free agency in 2021. The faceoff and penalty-killing specialist had averaged north of 15 minutes per game in his first two seasons in Toronto, didn’t miss a game, and reached 26 and 27 points, respectively. He’d never hit the 20-point threshold before in his career and hasn’t hit it since.

While still effective on the dot and shorthanded, Kämpf’s offensive liabilities began to contribute to a decreased role. He saw his ice time slashed by nearly two minutes per game in the first year of his extension, and it was further reduced to 12:29 last year, in which injuries and healthy scratches limited him to 59 appearances. Toronto’s trade deadline pickup of Scott Laughton from the Flyers pushed him out of the lineup entirely, and he only played in one out of 13 playoff games for the Leafs, so the writing was on the wall long before this season began.

That said, Kämpf shouldn’t have much trouble finding a new deal. He has 48 goals and 143 points in 536 career NHL games. Considering he’s only started 31.6% of his shifts at even strength in the offensive zone, his relatively tame -16 rating is indicative of his legitimate defensive skill. He’s not overly physical, averaging under one hit per game for his career, but has a 51.4% lifetime average on draws. If he’s willing to take a deal close to league minimum, he should have a multitude of options. Teams plagued with injuries up front – the Canucks and Sabres, in particular – could be among the first to call.

Image courtesy of Alan Poizner-Imagn Images.

Auston Matthews Out Roughly One Week, Anthony Stolarz Day-To-Day

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Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews avoided a serious lower-body injury when he left Tuesday’s loss to the Bruins following a heavy hit from Nikita Zadorov. He’s been given a day-to-day designation but has been ruled out for tonight’s contest against the Kings with another absence or two expected after that, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Starting goalie Anthony Stolarz also left that contest with an upper-body issue and has also landed a day-to-day designation and won’t play against the Kings, per TSN’s Mark Masters, but hasn’t been ruled out for Saturday against the Blackhawks. With backup Joseph Woll still working his way back to playing shape in the minors on a conditioning stint, Toronto announced they’ve recalled netminder Artur Akhtyamov from AHL Toronto to backup third-stringer Dennis Hildeby tonight. Center Scott Laughton was placed on injured reserve in the corresponding move.

The injury is another speed bump in what’s been another slow start from Matthews. The three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner has seen his chance generation numbers drop significantly since his generational 69-goal season in 2023-24. In 17 appearances this season, he’s managed nine goals and 14 points. That’s a better pace than last year’s extreme fall-off that only saw him tally 33 markers in 67 appearances, but it’s still well below his career-average pace of 0.63 goals per game.

Luckily for the Leafs, their other stars have more than picked up the slack and helped them stay somewhat afloat at .500 despite faltering defense and goaltending. Matthew Knies and John Tavares are both flirting with 100-point paces early on, while William Nylander sits sixth in league scoring with 24 points despite missing three games with a lower-body issue.

But while Matthews was still one of the league’s most dominant two-way centers during last year’s scoring slump, the same can’t be said in the early going in 2025-26. He’s winning a career-best 59% of his faceoffs, but his possession metrics have faltered. The Leafs are only controlling 47.5% of shot attempts and 48% of expected goals with Matthews on the ice at even strength, the first time in his 10-year career that either number has been below 50%.

Nonetheless, Tavares’ resurgence, Nylander’s dominance, and Knies’ continued breakout should help the Leafs weather the storm for a few days. They’re expected to load up the top line with those three, at least for tonight, per Masters.

As for Stolarz, a reset – injury-related or not – is needed. The career elite backup/tandem option has been overtaxed with Woll unavailable, and his numbers have plummeted as a result. Among goalies with at least 10 appearances this season, Stolarz’s .884 SV% ranks 22nd out of 25 names, and his -5.3 goals saved above expected rank 23rd, per MoneyPuck.

Tonight will thus mark Hildeby’s fourth appearance in the last six days. He entered in relief of Stolarz against Boston twice, first on Nov. 8 and then on Tuesday, while starting in a 5-4 loss to the Hurricanes on Nov. 9. Despite his 0-2-0 record, he’s been the best goalie Toronto’s had to offer this season in his limited sample. He’s logged a .909 SV% and 3.74 GAA on 88 shots faced, good for 2.1 goals saved above expected behind the Leafs’ porous defense. He’s leaps and bounds ahead of what he showed in last year’s limited NHL stint, when he had a .872 mark in six showings with a 3-3-0 record.

If Akhtyamov is forced into action, it would be his NHL debut. The 24-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Toronto back in 2020 and is now in his second season in North America. After a decent rookie showing for the Marlies last year, he’s taken a step back with a .894 SV% and 2.82 GAA in six games to start this year, but still has a 4-2-0 record.

Meanwhile, Laughton is on his second injury-related absence of the season. He missed the first 13 games of the year with a lower-body injury and sustained an upper-body issue in just his second game back against the Bruins. Since his IR placement is retroactive to Nov. 8, he’s been ruled out for tonight’s game plus Saturday’s game against Chicago, but will be eligible to come off IR next Tuesday against the Blues.

Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Auston Matthews, Anthony Stolarz Leave Due To Injury

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9:18 p.m.: Toronto Head Coach Craig Berube has provided updates, shared by Jonas Siegel of The Athletic: Stolarz is expected to be “fine”, while Matthews’ injury has no timeline or severity yet, as Berube told Siegel.

8:18 p.m.: Tonight’s game in Boston has dealt a blow to the Maple Leafs: the team announced that Auston Matthews and Anthony Stolarz will not return due to injury. Matthews has been diagnosed with a lower-body injury after taking a hit from behind into the boards from Nikita Zadorov. Meanwhile, Stolarz exited after playing the entire first period. With the Leafs off to a rough start, it appeared the team was just shaking things up between the pipes, but now, the team’s #1 goaltender has been listed with an upper-body ailment on top of their superstar captain’s injury. 

Toronto is still trying to find its way in its new, post “Core-Four” era. 8-7-1, the team has fallen to second-to-last in the Atlantic, despite scoring the most goals in their division entering tonight. Sinking the Leafs has been in good part their own end, as they’ve allowed 60. 

Matthews, always subject to criticism whether more warranted or not, has done his part with nine goals in 16 games. Now 28, he has been mostly durable in his first nine professional seasons, averaging just shy of 70 games a year. While a hit into the boards from behind from a player like Zadorov sounds highly alarming, it was a relatively routine play. Matthews got up, finished a check on Zadorov moments later in the corner, then skated to the bench without seeming bothered. The captain went to the locker room, but all things considered, it is hopefully not a major injury. 

Meanwhile, Stolarz completed the first frame before Dennis Hildeby took over in the net. Given that he had let in three goals on 10 shots, the update from the team that Stolarz is injured came as a bit of a surprise. The 31-year-old former top Flyers prospect is the latest example of a late-blooming goaltender, tasked with holding things down for Toronto into the near future. Stolarz was extended for four more years at $3.75MM after a strong 2024-25, where he posted a .926 in 34 games in his first campaign wearing the blue and white. 

Thankfully, Stolarz appears to have avoided a serious injury, as Toronto awaits the return of Joseph Woll from personal leave. Woll has been practicing with the team and appeared with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies last weekend, but has no timetable to return yet. Cayden Primeau was a waiver casualty to Carolina last week after a short stint. Hildeby, currently serving as backup, has just eight NHL games under his belt. 

The Maple Leafs are back in action on Thursday, hosting the Kings, and further details on the status of their superstar, Matthews, will be closely watched in the meantime. 

Maple Leafs Suspend David Kämpf Without Pay

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Nov. 9th: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported yesterday on the network’s “Saturday Headlines” segment that one of the key issues regarding a potential contract termination for Kämpf has been his signing bonus.

Kämpf was paid a $1.325MM signing bonus earlier this year, and Friedman reported that the NHL and NHLPA are currently “involved” in discussions over whether Kämpf would need to return a portion of that signing bonus in the event of a contract termination.

Friedman noted that “the hope” from each side is that Kämpf’s situation would be sorted out by Monday, but the signing bonus issue could be something that prolongs the process. There does not appear to be any concrete rule regarding what to do with a player’s signing bonus in the event of a mutual contract termination. What to do with that money is typically decided between a player and his contracted team on a case-by-case basis, often with the involvement of the NHL and NHLPA, as is the case in this situation.

Nov. 8th: According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Kämpf and his agent, JP Barry, are exploring all of their options and will decide on Monday. Given that a trade is highly unlikely at this point, Kämpf and the Maple Leafs are likely to agree to a mutual contract termination by the end of the weekend, despite reports indicating otherwise.

Nov. 6th: 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.

Scott Laughton Suffers Injury

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  • Toronto Maple Leafs veteran forward Scott Laughton left last night’s loss against the Boston Bruins with an upper-body injury after finding himself on the wrong end of a Nikita Zadorov body check. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told the media after the game, including The Hockey News’ David Alter, that the severity of Laughton’s injury is currently still being evaluated, but he did note that the player will miss the Maple Leafs’ game Sunday. Per TSN’s Mark Masters, Berube expressed frustration regarding the hit that injured Laughton, saying postgame “I thought it was a head shot.” Injuries have limited Laughton to just two games played this season, his first coming on Nov. 5.

Latest On Chris Tanev

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These injuries have left the Bruins in a somewhat precarious position entering their game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins were already dealing with an injury to top center Elias Lindholm, who was later placed on injured reserve. According to Fraser, veteran Jeffrey Viel will replace Beecher on the Bruins’ fourth line, while Alex Steeves, who was recalled today from AHL Providence, will play on the team’s second line, the one centered by Pavel Zacha. Due to McAvoy’s absence, defenseman Mason Lohrei, a healthy scratch for the last five games, will draw back into the lineup. The Bruins are on a five-game winning streak, but these injuries are likely to test the sustainability of the club’s winning ways.

  • There was an encouraging development coming out of Toronto today as Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev was spotted skating for the first time since he was stretchered off the ice during the team’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 2. (Report via TSN’s Mark Masters) While there have not been any additional specifics on a recovery timeline for Tanev, the mere fact that he’s back on the ice so soon after the injury scare he suffered has to be seen as a positive sign for his readiness to play. Tanev, who has dealt with concussions in the past in his career, is a key defensive defenseman for the Maple Leafs and has averaged 17:20 time-on-ice per game this season, including 2:40 per game on the penalty kill.

Hurricanes Claim Cayden Primeau Off Waivers From Toronto

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2:02 PM: The Hurricanes announced that Primeau has been assigned to AHL Chicago, meaning they were the only team to put in a claim.  Meanwhile, the team also confirmed that wingers Eric Robinson and William Carrier were activated off injured reserve as previously reported earlier today.

1:04 PM: The Hurricanes have plenty of goaltending depth in their organization and they have just added a bit more.  Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Carolina has claimed goaltender Cayden Primeau off waivers from Toronto.

It’s a return to the Hurricanes for the 26-year-old.  Carolina acquired him from Montreal in late June for a seventh-round pick and quickly signed him to a one-year, one-way contract at the league minimum salary of $775K.  The thought was that he’d serve as the third-string option for them this season.  However, those plans changed late in training camp when they picked up Brandon Bussi off waivers from Florida to fill that role, meaning Primeau was waived soon after.

With the Maple Leafs not having Joseph Woll to start the season after he took a leave of absence, Toronto claimed Primeau and had him spend the first four weeks of the season as Anthony Stolarz’s backup.  He won two of his three starts but struggled, allowing 13 goals on just 80 shots in those outings.  With Woll now on a conditioning stint in advance of his return, the Maple Leafs elected to waive Primeau.

Primeau has played in 58 NHL games over parts of seven NHL seasons with the other 55 outings before this season coming with Montreal.  While he has shown some flashes of upside along the way, he has struggled overall, posting a 15-25-7 record with a 3.73 GAA and a .882 SV%.

It’s fair to say that Carolina isn’t claiming Primeau to take over Bussi’s spot as the third-string option or serve as a number four on the NHL roster.  They’ll be hoping that no one else claimed him and if that’s the case, they will be eligible to send him to AHL Chicago as they originally intended to a month ago.  While Primeau hasn’t fared well in the NHL, he has been a top goalie in the minors and is coming off a 21-2-3 showing last season with Laval where he had a 1.96 GAA and a .927 SV%.  With Amir Miftakhov and Nikita Quapp playing to a combined 3.61 GAA and a .862 SV% in eight games so far this season, he’d be a huge addition for the Wolves if the Hurricanes can send him down.  If another team put a claim in though, Carolina would have to either keep Primeau on the NHL roster or put him right back on waivers.

Maple Leafs Recall Dennis Hildeby

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With Joseph Woll (conditioning stint) not yet ready to rejoin the Maple Leafs and Cayden Primeau’s performance as the backup landing him on waivers where he was claimed by Carolina, they need a new short-term second option.  That will be netminder Dennis Hildeby as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been recalled from AHL Toronto.

Hildeby appeared to be set to be the backup heading into the season following Woll’s absence and James Reimer being released from his late-camp PTO but Primeau’s claim at the end of training camp ended those plans.  Instead, the 24-year-old was sent down to the Marlies with an eye on seeing more playing time than he otherwise would have received as the backup to Anthony Stolarz.

That hasn’t gone quite to plan, however.  Hildeby has only made five starts for the Marlies (Primeau made three for the Maple Leafs over that same stretch) so he didn’t wind up seeing much extra action.  Over those outings, he has a 2.74 GAA and a .890 SV%, a step back on his career averages of 2.54 and .908 respectively over 78 AHL appearances.  Hildeby has six career NHL outings under his belt, all coming last season when he posted a 3.33 GAA and a .872 SV%.

With Toronto kicking off a back-to-back set tonight, it stands to reason that Hildeby will likely get the nod on Sunday against Carolina.  But that might be his only action while on this recall with Woll likely to rejoin the big club and come off LTIR within the next week or so.

Toronto Maple Leafs Place Cayden Primeau On Waivers

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed netminder Cayden Primeau on waivers, according to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston. Primeau, 26, was originally claimed off of waivers by the Maple Leafs on Oct. 6, as expected tandem goalie Joseph Woll had stepped away from the team to take a leave of absence on Sept. 23. Now, Woll has returned to the team and is nearing a full return to the NHL, a development that will, as expected, push Primeau off of the Maple Leafs’ NHL roster.

TSN’s Mark Masters reported today that Woll is going to play an AHL conditioning stint this weekend, meaning that while Primeau has been waived today, he may remain on the Maple Leafs’ NHL roster for a few more days while Woll is on his conditioning stint, assuming Primeau clears, of course.

Complicating his chances of clearing waivers is the fact that he was originally acquired by the Maple Leafs via waivers – meaning if the Carolina Hurricanes are the only team to claim Primeau, they would be free to claim him and then assign him to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.

While Primeau does come with a relatively hefty AHL price tag attached (he’s playing on a one-way, $775k deal), the Hurricanes could use some veteran support in their crease in Chicago. Their two incumbent goalies, Nikita Quapp and Amir Miftakhov,each have very little North American pro experience, so the addition of Primeau could go a long way in stabilizing that team’s goaltending situation. The Hurricanes also traded a draft pick (a 2026 seventh-rounder) to the Montreal Canadiens to acquire Primeau, so the Hurricanes may be motivated by that cost to re-add Primeau now that he’s available on waivers once again.

That’s not to say there’s no chance Primeau gets claimed by another team. While he has struggled at the NHL level in limited ice time this season (.838 save percentage in 3 games), he did post a solid .910 save percentage in 23 games in 2023-24 and looked like he was on track to become a solid backup goaltender, especially considering his track record in the AHL and in the NCAA. Another team in need of an additional goaltender could look at today’s waiver placement as an opportunity to add a goalie with some experience to their NHL roster.

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.

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