Prime Maple Leafs Buyout Candidate Emerging

When you're earning $2.4 million on a multi-year contract but can't find your way into the lineup, it's a problem. David Kampf has been a healthy scratch now for three straight games for the Toronto Maple Leafs, in the midst of another season of truly weak offensive contributions.

With only four goals and 10 points in 52 games, Kampf is now taking a back seat to newcomer Scott Laughton, who's taken his place on the fourth line (after the former Philadelphia Flyer was bumped down from a third-line role and Max Domi was inserted back in at center on the third line).

Now, per a report in Leafs Nation, Kampf is becoming a prime candidate for a buyout this summer. It would cost the Leafs a $1.683M cap hit for the next two seasons (as opposed to the $2.4M he currently takes up). The $800,000 or so in savings doesn't sound like much, but it could certainly be used more productively elsewhere on the roster.

Ideally, GM Brad Treliving will try to trade Kampf first after the season, though it's unclear what kind of market there'd be for a player who doesn't provide a hint of offense, or any real physicality either. Perhaps as a throw-in to a larger deal could be a possibility. Kampf also has a 10-team no-trade clause however, (hard as that may be to believe), putting even more constraints on finding a trade partner.

A buyout would certainly be the more sensible way to take care of this dilemma.

For his career, Kampf has only cracked double-digits in goals once in eight seasons, and overall, he has 47 goals and 140 points in 529 games. He's down to a career-low 12:35 in average ice time this season.