Toronto Maple Leafs forward David Kampf remains on leave from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies as uncertainty grows around his contract status.
The 30-year-old veteran has yet to play an NHL game this season and is reportedly exploring options to leave the organization.
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Kampf cleared waivers in early October and has spent the start of the year in the AHL. After sitting out last weekend’s games, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Monday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast that Kampf left the Marlies and gave teammates the impression he would seek a contract termination.
“I don’t know exactly what was said or exactly what was told,” Friedman said. “But Kampf did leave players with the Marlies with the impression that he was going to terminate his contract.”
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On Thursday, Friedman wrote a “32 Thoughts” column at Sportsnet, adding new information about the Maple Leafs-Kampf situation and revealing that there is internal pushback to terminating the deal.
“I’ve heard there is pushback to terminating his contract,” Friedman said. “We’ll see how things play out. But he remains on leave from AHL Toronto, and it was clear his heart wasn’t in it.”
Kampf’s contract runs through 2026–27 with a $2.4 million cap hit. Terminating the deal would forfeit roughly $4 million in salary but could free him to pursue a new NHL role, which is seemingly what he wants after not enjoying the start to this season in Toronto.
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Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving.Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Friedman, however, warned on Monday that no final decision has been made and cautioned that the situation is still evolving and nobody should jump to conclusions.
“I had some people say to me, ‘Don’t definitively say that that is going to happen, because there is a process,’” Friedman said. “We’ll see how this plays out over the next few days.”
The Leafs have $3.6 million in cap space, but the team’s roster is already filled, leaving no room for adding Kampf to the NHL squad.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Nov 6, 2025, where it first appeared in the NHL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.