Leafs Forward Returns To Practice And Inserts Himself Into The Lineup
The Toronto Maple Leafs saw the return of a key forward to practice and found himself already inserted into the lineup.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are finally getting reinforcements back to their lineup and in the past weeks have seen Auston Matthews, Max Domi, Max Pacioretty, Bobby McMann, and Jake McCabe among others.
But one name who has been out for a bit who we haven't heard much of is David Kampf. The Leafs fourth-line center isn't the flashiest player but gives Toronto solid defensive metrics, faceoff ability and the grit Craig Berube loves.
So it's a good sign that Kampf not only returned to the ice for practice, but found himself on his typical fourth line alongside Steven Lorentz and Ryan Reaves.
David Kampf's Anticipated Return
The return of Kampf coincides with the demotion of Fraser Minten which happened earlier on Tuesday morning. With Kampf coming back in, his cap hit and roster spot needed to be worked on.
He has been out of the lineup for nearly a month and was dealing with an undisclosed lower-body injury, and Toronto could use his defense and penalty killing as they head into a tough game against Dallas on Wednesday.
So far this season, Kampf has two assists but focuses primarily on providing the Maple Leafs a savvy defensive center who fits in perfectly with Craig Berube's system.
Toronto's lines looked a bit different on the defensive side as well, with Morgan Rielly dropping down to the second pairing while the shutdown duo of Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe move to the top.
Kampf will bring his defensive acumen against a very tough Dallas team which is sitting in third place in the brutally tough Central Division and will no doubt provide Toronto's toughest task so far in December.
It's a great sign to see Toronto being able to get healthy and see their typical roster players return at a crucial point where if they can build on some quick chemistry, can only lead to success.
