Maple Leafs may have found David Kampf replacement on the fourth-line

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a potential option at center that may make David Kampf a potential player to move out if his position becomes less secure with this recent move.

An opinion piece from ‘Editor In Leaf’ argues that the recent acquisition of center Steven Lorentz could give the Leafs a potential fourth line center and would shed salary at the bottom-six.

The article argues that Lorentz, who is currently signed to a PTO deal, could make Kampf someone who can be moved from Toronto.

Although the move makes little sense in a winning perspective, it does make a bit of logic in a cap sense. Kampf, 29, is owed $2.4M until 2027. Lorentz, 28, doesn’t do much to move the needle, but saves Toronto money that could potentially help them in a potential trade down the road to win.

Toronto could use the money to target some offense in their bottom-six, and not have to rely on their top stars to consistently carry the offensive workload throughout the season. That experiment in previous years has not worked out for the Leafs, altgough neither Kampf or Lorentz bring defense to the table.

Arguably, Lorentz could also replace Connor Dewar as a versatile 13F with Lorentz’s ability to play all three forward positions, having done each last season. This may be a surprise benefit for the Leafs away fron Center as they look to solidify their left side with the team with Tyler Bertuzzi gone for Chicago, while internally Nick Robertson has requested a trade and neither Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten are locks to make the team just yet.

The flaw in moving Kampf would be the loss of arguably Toronto’s best pure defensive forward. Kampf is a reliable bottom-six presence who excels in the role. There aren’t many players who can replicate his effort and reliability. Lorenz is a decent player, but has struggled to be an everyday player, he doesn’t move the needle, although he has the experience and ability to be a fourth-line player potentially.

Lorentz, 28, had a goal and 3 points in 38 games last season for the Stanley Cup winning Florida Panthers in the 2023-24 season, and had 3 points in 16 playoff games.

Kampf, 29, had 8 goals and 19 points in 78 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2023-24 season.