Hours before being placed on waivers, David Kampf admitted to facing mental challenges from losing Leafs roster spot

The Toronto Maple Leafs placed forward David Kampf on waivers on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET, just hours after team practice ended. He dressed up for Friday's practice session only because forward Scott Laughton was out injured.

David Kampf was the Maple Leafs' fourth-line centre, up until March of last season, before Toronto acquired Scott Laughton in a trade from the Flyers. He lost his 4C spot to Laughton by the start of playoffs, and was scratched for the entirety of the Leafs' 2024-25 postseason run, which ended in 12 games after a second round loss to the Panthers.

For Friday's practice session, Kampf was slotted into the fourth line alongside Steven Lorentz and top prospect Easton Cowan. Unknowingly, he gave a final interview after the session, just hours before being placed on waivers.

"So, obviously it feels better when you are in the first four lines. So yeah, hopefully it will stay like this", said Kampf.

The Czech forward, whose career-best season was in 2022-23, when he scored 27 points in 82 regular season games, admitted that it was mentally challenging to fall off Maple Leafs' top four lines.

"Yeah, of course. It's hard, I think everyone wants to play, wants to be in the team. So, it was hard for me, but I'm trying to be positive and work hard every day," said Kampf.

Also read: Jay Rosehill opines $8,400,000 Maple Leafs forward is more desirable as trade fodder than David Kampf

Leafs HC Craig Berube gave his opinion of David Kampf before the forward's placement on the waiver wire

After Craig Berube watched David Kampf practice with the team on Friday, the Maple Leafs HC gave his opinion of the 30-year-old centre, right before the team placed him on waivers.

“He’s a good NHL player. Played in the league for a long time. He’s a reliable player. He gives you what he gives you, David. He’s come in with a good attitude”, said Berube.

Also read: NHL analyst predicted end of David Kampf's Leafs spell with Dakota Joshua's arrival signals in July

If no team claims David Kampf from waivers before 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, he will be sent down to the AHL's Toronto Marlies. With his $2.4 million cap hit coming off the books, GM Brad Treliving has made the Maple Leafs cap complaint, just days before the start of the 2025-26 NHL season. In addition to Kampf, the Leafs also placed William Villeneuve on waivers.

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Srihari is an NHL Assistant Content Manager and writer at Sportskeeda with over 2 years of experience. An engineering graduate in electrical and electronics, he spent one year as a Programmer Analyst at Cognizant.

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Edited by Srihari Anand