The 2025-26 NHL season is upon us as training camp officially begins this week. For the Toronto Maple Leafs, their overall roster makeup appears more or less set, especially at the defense and goaltending positions. However, there will be a few spots available for battle for the Leafs’ bottom-six heading into the season.
For key acquisitions in Nicolas Roy this past offseason and Scott Laughton from the trade deadline, they should have their roles secured already. But for some others, this training camp could make or break their chances in playing for Toronto this year. As a result, we will take a look at 3 Maple Leafs players with the most to lose this preseason as their ultimate fate with the club could be determined.
David Kampf
After being a main cog in the Leafs’ bottom-six for much of the past four seasons, David Kampf will actually enter camp this year with his potential future with the team in question. That is because with Toronto adding multiple role players in the mold similar to Kampf this offseason, the latter could thus become expendable as a result.
Kampf has seen his production decrease over the past couple of seasons, as he went from averaging 27 points a season down to just 19 points during the 2023-24 year and further down to 13 points just last season. Not only that, he also saw his playing time cut back last year and only ended up appearing in one game in the postseason for the Leafs. Consequently, Kampf will need to prove that he could still provide value to the club this preseason to secure a role for the 2025-26 campaign. Otherwise, with a cap hit of $2.4 million per season, he could be moved to allow for more cap flexibility for Toronto going forward.
Calle Jarnkrok
After signing a four-year, $8.4 million contract with the Leafs during the 2022 offseason, Calle Jarnkrok put together a career season in his first year with the club. During the 2022-23 season, Jarnkrok accumulated 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points in 73 games played.
However, the 33-year-old forward had seen his numbers diminish in his subsequent seasons with the club, including spending the bulk of his 2024-25 campaign on the sidelines due to undergoing groin snd sports hernia surgery early in the season. Nevertheless, Jarnkrok still managed to put up seven points in 19 games during the regular season last year, while appearing in 12 playoff games for Toronto. He will need to have a solid training camp to further instill confidence in the Leafs brass that he could play a prominent role for the team. Otherwise, his roster spot and tenure with the organization could be in jeopardy, while his salary cap hit could be invaluable for Toronto to utilize as a result.
Nick Robertson
Of all of the Leafs players potentially fighting for a roster spot, Nick Robertson has the most to lose of them all. After all, he has spent the past few seasons trying to cement himself in the Maple Leafs everyday lineup but has often come up short in doing so. After battling injuries and inconsistency in his initial years with the club, Robertson finally found some more consistent playing time during the 2023-24 season, as he ended up posting 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 56 total games.
However, he fell off that pace somewhat last season with just 15 goals and seven assists in 69 games played while appearing in just three playoff games as a result. In addition, with his scoring being his main calling card while his defensive abilities are still up for debate, it significantly limits his overall impact for Toronto. Recently, Leafs coach Craig Berube even hinted that a roster spot isn’t guaranteed for Robertson (subscription required) and that he will need to earn it. At the same time, some sources have speculated that Toronto could look to move the once-promising winger. So unless Robertson has a breakout preseason much like last season, his time with the team could be hanging by the thread in the coming weeks.