The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward David Kampf to a four-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $2.4 million.
Brad Treliving has made his first move as Toronto Maple Leafs GM.
The Maple Leafs finally got in on the draft week action, solidifying their bottom six by agreeing to terms with forward David Kampf on a four-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $2.4 million, the team announced. The Leafs also re-signed Pontus Holmberg to a two-year contract worth $800,000 per year.
Kampf's deal ties him to Toronto through the 2026-27 season, keeping the 28-year-old from hitting the open market on July 1. The Maple Leafs have 10 signed forwards on their active roster for the coming year so far.
Kampf set a career high in points in 2022-23, racking up seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points in 82 games. The Czech native is a pure defensive forward who offers very little offensive upside while alternatively being capable of handling difficult minutes against top competition.
Kampf logged 15:18 in average nightly ice time for the Maple Leafs last season, beginning just 27.2 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone and winning 51.5 percent of his draws as a staple of the team's third and fourth lines.
Despite Kampf's usefulness, though, this is still an extremely rich deal to give a largely one-dimensional player.
With how little Kampf is able to produce offensively, one can wonder if the Maple Leafs would have been able to replicate his defensive impact with a player capable of offering a little more punch at the other end of the ice who costs less money. And given Toronto's lack of cap space and their bevy of pending free agents looking for new deals, Treliving & Co. need every dollar they can get.
Suffice it to say, the Maple Leafs' work is far from done.