The Vancouver Canucks and David Kämpf agreed to terms on a one-year, $1.1 million deal. Is he worth it?
There was plenty of talk before the 2025-26 season started about finding centres for the team. With Pius Suter pricing himself out of the market (despite Jim Rutherford's retroactive claims) and the VERY questionable health of Filip Chytil, more was needed. It wasn't a secret. Heck, one of the more famous quotes being replayed now is from Rutherford himself:
“It'll be expensive, but it'll also be very expensive not to get one. We're going to be open to do whatever it takes.”
Nothing like being your own self-fulfilling prophet.
Two names that came up in the idle speculation were Lukas Reichel and David Kämpf. Both were rejected for various reasons, but mostly because they weren't top-six centres. Vancouver wasn't great lower in the lineup, but the addition really needed to be at the top. They weren't going to move the needle if Chytil got injured.
Life moves fast on ya some days.
Lukas Reichel hasn't worked out, unfortunately, but was an experiment worth trying. A young guy who played some centre, even if he was used more on the wing. Even without the points yet, he does bring plenty of speed that much of the team doesn't have. In less desperate times, his lack of scoring wouldn't carry as much weight.
So in comes the next "other option" from Summer: David Kämpf. He hasn't played an NHL game this season, and only four in the AHL with a single assist to show for it. He's probably the team's *deep breath* second-line centre whenever he gets into the lineup. He was suspended on November 2nd for not reporting to the Marlies, so he may need to get up to speed before joining the club. I'll be a bit surprised if he gets ice time in Florida.
Okay. I tend towards a much more optimistic view of the Canucks than many in this market because I find pessimism boring. I freely admit there have been days this season where that has been more difficult than others. But today isn't one of those days. Here's why.
Kämpf has spent a lot of time there, both in Chicago and Toronto. He is a faceoff guy and a defensive specialist, which is very welcome on the team with the worst PK in the league. There are some small differences in coaching styles around the league, but penalty kills are pretty much about what you give up. It won't take him long to pick up the subtleties.
Seriously, anything has to be better than the results they're getting now. Are there EBUG penalty killers?
Kämpf is, fortunately, closer to Aatu Räty's size than Lukas Reichel's. He stands 6'2" and plays at around 195 pounds - it's always a grain of salt with NHL measurements, but that beats Reichel by 25 pounds. If the new guy is going to go up against the opponent's best, he's going to have a lot to stand up to. This really highlights the other side of bringing Kämpf in now: helping Elias Pettersson the Forward(tm).
Many fans have been critical of Pettersson the Forward's results so far this season, and fair enough. While he has five points in his past four games, his point totals really need to hit point-per-game levels for him to earn his team-leading contract. I've written before about what I think he will be, and I stand by it. But he needs help out there right now, and I think Kämpf can provide it.
Pettersson the Forward(tm) is taking the vast majority of Vancouver's faceoffs right now. Nearly half of those are in the defensive end of the ice. According to Hockey Reference, he's at his worst Corsi of his career - and it's still 51.8%. As sweet as his short-handed goal was against Carolina, I'd rather he play fewer minutes a man down. Let Kämpf take some of the hards off his plate.
Some of this is going to be self-interest, obviously. But plenty of other teams were interested in Kämpf's services after Toronto cut him. Not enough to lose assets for him at $2.4 million, but at less than half that, and for free? That's a sweet deal!
Why he chose Vancouver, we'll never really know. But there are a few safe guesses.
First, he can resurrect his career. Kämpf hit a low point last season, scoring just five times with 13 points in 59 games. Even a defensive specialist needs to contribute a bit more to the bottom line than that. Getting sent to the AHL when he still had two years on his contract was a wake-up call, and he didn't much like hearing it. So why is Vancouver the right choice?
The Canucks are desperately short-staffed at centre, right now and in overall depth. Players will be coming back at some point, but even when they do, Kämpf has a good chance of keeping his spot. Kudos to the work Max Sasson has put in, but both he and Reichel are more likely wingers in the NHL. That's not a bad thing at all, but if Teddy Blueger and (deo volente) Filip Chytil return, Kämpf will have spent weeks making his case.
Like so many desperate moves, this one doesn't really raise the ceiling for the team. But right now, that's okay. What we're looking at right now is probably the team's floor, and he does raise that.
While one or two players still don't seem to have gotten the memo *cough*Evander Kane*cough* the Canucks are working their asses off out there. The effort isn't missing, but the talent is. That's just what happens when the top guys on a thin team are out of the lineup. If this is a low as it gets, that's not a bad base to launch from when the talent gets back.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki will play 35 minutes a night* in Abbotsford for a few games before returning to Vancouver. Nils Höglander is out of his walking boot. Blueger is skating, though with a non-contact jersey at the last practice before this roadie. Derek Forbort, speaking of the penalty kill, is scheduled to be back in another two weeks, but "undisclosed" injuries are always a mystery.
Right now, the high-concern injuries are to Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko, but there isn't much Kämpf can do there. We'll see how Jiří Patera does, but even he is taking the place of the injured Nikita Tolopilo.
Can David Kämpf help keep the Canucks afloat until reinforcements arrive? In three words:
He can't hurt.
*Perhaps a slight exaggeration, but we'll see. They're missing a lot of players right now, too.
