NASHVILLE – Brad Treliving has made his first roster decision as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it’s a safe one that solidifies defensive reliability and depth up the middle.
Treliving inked bottom-six centreman David Kämpf to a four-year extension that carries an average annual value of $2.4 million and depth centre Pontus Holmberg to a two-year bridge deal that holds an $800,000 cap hit.
Kämpf was one of 10 impending unrestricted free agents on the roster and the first to commit.
Holmberg, 24, was a pending restricted free agent who impressed in his 37-game regular-season call-up to the Leafs this past season, recording 13 points in limited minutes before returning to the AHL Marlies.
The 28-year-old arrived in Toronto as an under-the-radar value pickup by former GM Kyle Dubas and had wrapped a two-year deal at a bargain $1.5-million cap hit.
A coach’s dream, fitness fanatic and respected role player in the Leafs room, Kämpf earned his raise with reliable defensive play, penalty killing, and availability.
He hasn’t missed a single game since joining the Maple Leafs, wins most of his faceoffs (51.5 per cent), and stays out of the penalty box (8 PIM).
While the pivot provides minimal offence (27 points in 2022-23), Kämpf manages to be a plus player despite starting just 81.5 per cent of his shifts in the defensive zone.
While Treliving continues to work away at an extension for his other impending UFA centre, Ryan O’Reilly, locking up Kämpf through 2026-27 gives the Leafs some insurance at the 3C position and alleviates some pressure on prospect Pontus Holmberg (RFA) to make an NHL impact next season.
The late-blooming Holmberg was a sixth-round find in the 2018 draft who has flashed more playmaking potential than Kämpf. Yet despite his positive audition at the NHL level, the Leafs did not have him on their playoff roster, preferring to let him develop with the Marlies.
Yes, the Kämpf deal feels a tad rich and a smidge long for a safe, one-dimensional player. But with the UFA market so thin up the middle, it’s likely he would’ve received a similar offer elsewhere.
With so many other Leafs forwards creeping to toward free agency Saturday — O’Reilly, Michael Bunting, Noel Acciari, Zach Aston-Reese, Alexander Kerfoot, Wayne Simmonds — it will be fascinating to see how Treliving remodels his bottom six.
On Wednesday’s edition of The Jeff Marek Show, Friedman reported that Treliving is looking at “beef” and size to round out his depth forwards, naming pending UFAs Ryan Reaves, Austin Watson, and Miles Wood as the type of targets in the GM’s sights.