Report: David Kämpf ‘Frustrated’ With Maple Leafs Situation, Takes Break From Marlies

Toronto Maple Leafs forward David Kämpf is reportedly frustrated with his current situation and has stepped away from the AHL's Toronto Marlies, creating a complicated roster challenge for both player and team.

Situation Details

During the Saturday Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed that Kämpf was not with the Marlies on their recent road trip.

"Kämpf has taken a couple of days to kind of think about his future," Friedman said. "Obviously, he's not playing with the Maple Leafs right now. He's in a bit of a roster and salary cap crunch situation, and he got a little bit frustrated."

Kämpf, now in the third year of a four-year contract with a $2.4 million cap hit per season, was placed on waivers before the start of the season. After no other NHL team claimed him, he was assigned to the Marlies.

Contract and Cap Impact

The Leafs carry $1.25 million of Kämpf’s salary on their NHL cap.
League rules limit cap relief for buried contracts to $1.15 million in 2025-26.

This situation is less than ideal: the Leafs likely wanted to trade Kämpf, while he probably feels he deserves to play at the NHL level.

Summary

David Kämpf's frustration underscores the challenges faced by both player and team amid complex roster and salary cap restrictions.

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The Hockey News — 2025-11-03