Vancouver Canucks sign former Maple Leafs centre David Kämpf
The Vancouver Canucks desperately needed reinforcements at centre ice.
So, it’s no surprise that they’ve signed veteran centre David Kämpf to a one-year deal.
The 30-year-old centre has yet to play an NHL game this season after he wasn’t named to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 23-man roster at the beginning of the season.
Kämpf initially reported to the Toronto Marlies, where he registered one assist in four games. He was then suspended from the AHL squad after failing to travel with them on the road.
That led to a mutual contract termination between Kämpf and the Leafs, which made him a free agent on Friday.
A report from CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal earlier in the day suggested that the Canucks were one of three teams in on Kämpf.
The Canucks announced following the signing that Kämpf would join the team on a one-year deal paying him $1.1 million per season.
A roster move will need to follow as the Canucks are currently over the 23-man roster limit.
Kämpf is an eight-year NHL veteran, having spent four of those seasons with the Maple Leafs. He’s a defence-first centre who was Toronto’s leader in shorthanded ice time over the last three seasons.
The fact that he can kill penalties, win faceoffs, and primarily takes faceoffs in the defensive zone are all attributes that this Canucks team desperately needs.
Elias Pettersson currently leads the league with 408 faceoffs taken. He’s won 47.6 per cent of them so far this season.
The Canucks rank 29th overall this season in the faceoff dot, winning just 46 per cent of draws.