
David Kampf has had enough and is taking extreme measures to get out of Toronto.
There were rumblings over the weekend that Maple Leaf forward David Kampf's time in Toronto was coming to an end, but it now seems like a forgone conclusion.
Kampf, who has not appeared in a single National Hockey League game for the Maple Leafs this season, has been frustrated with his situation in Toronto and it would be hard to blame him. In spite of being an NHL level player, Kampf has been relegated to the American Hockey League due to salary cap constraints with the Maple Leafs roster.
It isn't clear when Kampf reached his boiling point but it would appear that he has indeed reached it, with NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealing on Monday morning that Kampf is prepared to use some pretty extreme measures to get himself out of this situation.
"He didn't play on Sunday and I don't know exactly what was said or what was told, but Kampf did leave players with the Marlies with the impression that he was going to terminate his contract," revealed Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast.
That would be an incredibly risky move on the part of Kampf who would be leaving roughly $4 million on the table by terminating his current contract, a 4 year deal with an average annual value and cap hit of $2.4 million per season. Kampf has one year remaining on that deal beyond this current season, which means that a decision of this nature would require a huge sacrifice on his part.
"The bottom line is he wants to play and everybody understands that," said Friedman.
There has been some talk that the Maple Leafs could make a trade in order to clear up cap space and get Kampf back up on the main roster, however it seems that Kampf may no longer be willing to wait for the Leafs to find a suitable trade.
"I certainly understand his frustration, I certainly recognize what he wants to do," said Friedman. "Obviously it got to a point where Kampf said 'You know what the status quo it's just not good enough for me.'"
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