Maple Leafs place David Kampf on waivers for purpose of contract termination

It looks like the end is in sight for a disgruntled player.

On Thursday, the Toronto Maple Leafs placed forward David Kampf on waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the move earlier in the day.

It ends a saga that dates back to the preseason, when Kampf was put on waivers right before the 2025-26 regular season. The 30-year-old cleared and was assigned to the Leafs’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

Kampf went on to play four games for the Marlies, posting one assist. His last game came on Oct. 29, not long before the Czech native left the team.

Then, last week, the Leafs suspended Kampf for leaving their top farm team. It started to spell the end for his tenure with the organization, though Toronto looked to move Kampf’s contract elsewhere. However, no deal has been reached, leaving the Leafs with no choice but to simply rid themselves of his contract.

Kampf is in the third season of a four-year contract, which has a $2.4 million cap hit. The deal had only been taking up $1.25 million on the Leafs’ salary cap, thanks to half of his AAV getting buried in the minors. That value wasn’t charged against Toronto while Kampf was suspended.

The former Chicago Blackhawk had been a solid depth piece in his four seasons with Toronto, scoring a career-high 27 points during the 2022-23 season. However, Kampf seemingly fell out of favor with head coach Craig Berube last season, leading to him playing just once during the team’s run to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In 536 regular-season appearances in the NHL, Kampf has scored 48 goals and 95 assists for 143 points. He’s also notched seven assists in 35 postseason games.