The Toronto Maple Leafs have gone ahead with a move expected to come for some days now. The Leafs placed on Thursday placed forward David Kampf on waivers to terminate his contract.
As initially reported by Darren Dreger and confirmed by Chris Johnston, the Maple Leafs surprised no one by following through on their intentions to put the kibosh on their relationship with Kampf.
What does seem like somewhat of a surprise is the fact that Kampf will not return any of the bonus money in question. The Maple Leafs paid Kampf a signing bonus of over $1 million this season. That money had been the bone of contention between the two sides.
But as Johnston wrote in The Athletic on November 13, it doesn’t seem like Kampf will be returning any of that bonus. In a manner of speaking, the Maple Leafs viewed that bonus as a sunken cost. It’s a drop in the bucket for an organization with enough resources to write off the loss.
What the Maple Leafs really gained from this transaction was cap flexibility. Kampf carried a $2.4 million cap hit this season. By sending him to the minors, the club was only on the books for about $1.25 million. That money will now come off the Leafs’ books.
Teams can claim Kampf until 2 pm on Friday. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll immediately become a UFA. That situation would allow Kampf to sign with any team he chooses. Well, he could sign with any team willing to give him another shot at the NHL.
What Kampf Termination Means for Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs gain another million or so in cap space when Kampf clears or another team claims him. That cap space could go towards bringing in another depth forward or keeping that cash on hold for future moves.
The Leafs are in dire straits with two regular centers on the shelf. Captain Auston Matthews joined Scott Laughton in the team’s mash unit this week. The club will roll with Steven Lorentz as the fourth-line center on Thursday, with Max Domi taking over the second-line center role.
Erasing Kampf’s contract from the Maple Leafs’ books would give the team about $2 million to play with. That’s not a lot to work with, but it might be enough to call up two players from the AHL Marlies or potentially swing a deal for a bottom-six forward.
Contract Termination Leaves Toronto with Black Eye
An overlooked effect of the Kampf contract termination saga for the Maple Leafs could be the situation’s optics. Free agents interested in signing with the Maple Leafs could see this situation with David Kampf as a drawback for signing with the club.
Toronto could always pin the blame on Kampf. Particularly, Kampf’s refusal to report to the Marlies became the reason for his contract’s termination. But then again, there’s no telling if depth players may look at this situation as a deterrent from signing with the Leafs down the road.
The organization hopes this unfortunate incident is nothing more than a one-off as the club moves to plug the many lineup holes.
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