The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly looking to clear bodies in their bottom six. The signing of Nick Robertson only added to the seeming logjam on the third and fourth lines.
Newcomers Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua are practically locks for spots on the third line. Meanwhile, Steven Lorentz and Scott Laughton are fixtures on the fourth line. That leaves two spots which could be up for grabs.
Daily Faceoff projects Bobby McMann as the third-line right winger, while Calle Jarnkrok could suit up on the right side on the fourth line.
That means that Robertson and David Kampf are pretty much out of luck. Now, Jarnkrok is far from a sure thing. Injuries slowed him down last season. While he looked good at the end of last season, Jarnkrok isn’t guaranteed to play a full season.
If he doesn’t, that could open up a spot for Robertson. That situation is contingent on the Maple Leafs keeping Robertson around as a 13th forward.
So, that puts Kampf in a tough spot. He’s likely on the outside looking in. It’s tough to see him get back into the lineup unless Scott Laughton either falls off a cliff or goes down with an injury. But then again, the Leafs have some depth options with the Marlies.
But if Laughton remains relatively productive and healthy, David Kampf could be packing his bags and head to Robidas Island.
Maple Leafs may have no choice but to send Kampf to Robidas Island
Robidas Island has been largely reserved for players landing on LTIR. But that LTIR has been a convenient way out of unwanted contracts.
Ryan Reaves had a quick tour of Robidas Island at the end of last season. But he ended up getting a ticket out. The Maple Leafs did Reaves a solid by sending him to San Jose.
But in Kampf’s case, no one has bitten on taking his contract. Unless the Maple Leafs do what the Red Wings did with Vladimir Tarasenko, it’s hard to envisage anyone taking a flyer on Kampf.
So, Robidas Island is likely Kampf’s final destination. The Maple Leafs could send Kampf a token invitation to training camp before placing him on waivers. On waivers, there might be a team desperate enough to claim him.
But that could be an extreme possibility.
It’s worth pointing out that the Leafs cannot bury Kampf’s cap hit in the AHL. The most the Leafs can get as cap relief is $750K. That means that the Leafs will have to eat up the remainder of Kampf’s cap hit just to get him off the roster.
Ultimately, that could be a small price to pay for the sake of clearing a roster spot to add another bottom-six forward like Jack Roslovic.