Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving has given out some pretty dumb contracts in his career.
Before becoming the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Treliving gave out ridiculous contracts to Nazem Kadri and Jon Huberdeau that are far worse than anything he has done here.
And for that we should be thankful.
But, that being said, the contract he gave to David Kampf, which makes him the highest paid 4th liner in the NHL, is absolutely brutal.
Not only is it expensive, but it inexplicably includes a 10 team no-trade clause. Why would Kampf not be satisfied to get a contract that is at least twice as high as he earned? Why would the Leafs intentionally handcuff themselves by giving completely unnecessary and unwarranted no-trade protection? (contract info from puckpedia.com).
This is like if you owned a Taco Bell and in addition to their salary, you also provided the manager with a complimentary Rolls Royce to cruise around town in.
Toronto Maple Leafs Worst Contract Is to the NHL's Highest Paid 4th Liner
Last summer the Toronto Maple Leafs signed David Kampf to a four-year contract with a cap-hit of $2.4 million.
There may well be other players who are this expensive and also ended up on the fourth line, but they weren't signed to play there. David Kampf was.
He has no offensive game to speak of, and therefore he is only useful as a defensive centre. Back when the Leafs had Pierre Engvall, the duo could actually play against top lines and win their minutes.
This was a rare gift and it was the reason Kampf was re-signed. The only problem? It was Engvall who drove the bus. Without Engvall camp is the next best thing to useless.
Playing on the fourth line last year, usually with Noah Gregor and Ryan Reaves, David Kampf were absolutely destroyed.
With Kampf on the ice, the Leafs were out-scored 36-24 which is exactly what their Expected Goals Rating said the score should have been which means it wasn't bad luck or goaltending - it was bad play. (Naturalstattrick.com).
So let's sum up: The Leafs "defensive" centre doesn't get defensive minutes, he just plays with two of the worst players in the NHL. He doesn't score, and in fact picks up points at the same rate as Jake McCabe, a below-average offensive defenseman (*McCabe is above average overall, but he isn't here to score).
Kampf's contract is only $2.4 million, but if you replace him with a player on a league-minimum contract or an entry-level deal you would have $1.5 million to spend elsewhere in the lineup. Unfortunately a buy-out would only save the Leafs have of that $1.5 so they should try to trade him.
However, since the buy-out is still a savings, it might be better to buy him out than to pay a team a sweetener to take him.
In a cap world, the margins matter. David Kampfs' contract is a joke and he should be immediately traded. If a trade can't be facilitated, a buy-out is still better than having him on the roster.