Toronto Star ePaper

Bargain third line is built for playoffs

DAVE FESCHUK

If there was a collective moment of gratitude at Maple Leafs practice here on U.S. Thanksgiving afternoon, it was for the sight of David Kämpf, back on the ice after a scary moment the night before.

The third-line centreman was removed from Wednesday’s game in Los Angeles for what the team termed “precautionary reasons” after absorbing a first-shift head shot from Rasmus Kupari.

And although the Leafs won easily without Kämpf — reeling off their 12th win in 14 games in a 6-2 rout — the prospect of Kämpf being on the shelf for an extended period clearly wouldn’t thrill anyone in the team’s brain trust.

When you’re winning like Toronto’s winning, the status quo is awfully appealing.

So as much as Kämpf is a depth player on a roster famous for its high-end foursome of forwards, he has also been an integral part of the Leafs’ commitment to defensive hockey that had them ranked third in the league in goals against per game heading into Friday night’s date with the Sharks.

Which is to say: Of the many bargain-priced bit players who’ve been signed by the Leafs in this capstrapped era, he’s among the select handful who have found a way, at least in the early going of this season, to make themselves indispensable.

“I think he’s brought stability to our group,” Jason Spezza, the veteran sage, was saying of Kämpf this week.

“He plays the right way. He is a very unselfish hockey player. He is a team player. He’s a great kid off the ice. He’s an extremely hard worker; you guys don’t see the work he puts in, in the gym. Always a

smile on his face, always happy to be at the rink. Just a great addition for us.”

As the centre of Toronto’s third line, Kämpf has given head coach Sheldon Keefe more than one option for important tasks like defensive-zone faceoffs and matchups against the opposing team’s top players.

As Keefe was recalling this week, he and general manager Kyle Dubas had talked about adding a player of Kämpf’s description going back a couple of off-seasons — a centre who could complement counterparts Auston Matthews and John Tavares, in part by easing their workload.

The Leafs spent parts of last year icing a third line centred by Alex Kerfoot and flanked by Ilya Mikheyev and the departed Zach Hyman. Kämpf’s presence has freed up Kerfoot as a versatile winger who’s played up and down the lineup, while Mikheyev continues his rehab from a wrist injury.

Now, with Kämpf frequently flanked by his Czech compatriot and childhood friend Ondrej Kaše — and with Nick Ritchie most recently rounding out the combination — Keefe said the makeup of Toronto’s third line “changes a lot for me.”

“I don’t have to rely upon Matthews and Tavares for so many defensive starts,” Keefe said. “In the past I’ve had to really be mindful of the other team’s best players coming over, and wanting to make sure (Matthews or Tavares) are out there. Now we have a line that, if we lose the matchup or I want to get away from it for a little bit, we have another line that we can trust playing against the other team’s best people.”

Whether the Leafs will have the line for Friday’s game, of course, is never a given. While Kämpf was a full participant in practice and was termed a “game-time decision” by Keefe, absent from Thursday’s skate was Kaše, whose own battles with the ravages of brain injuries have been well documented. Keefe said Kaše was given the day off to deal with the “accumulation” of the physical toll that accompanies his crash-and-bang style. So Kaše, too, is a game-time decision.

“He’s been through a lot, as we’ve talked about, through this season and how he plays,” Keefe said of Kaše. “We’ll give him a good day for things to settle for him and take it from there.”

This week, Kaše, who’s been described by teammate Wayne Simmonds as a “kamikaze fighter,” was asked if anyone has ever encouraged him to tone down the on-ice doggedness that frequently puts him in harm’s way.

“My mom,” Kaše said with a smile. But for the Leafs, as much as Kaše’s style comes with an obvious risk, the third line’s grittiness offers a tantalizing vision of a style that figures to be effective in the playoffs, so long as its purveyors are physically able to perform when it matters.

“Those guys have a never-say-die attitude. They’re always in on plays. They’re always forechecking, backchecking, blocking shots. They literally do whatever is necessary for our team to win,” Simmonds said of Kämpf and Kaše. “They bring a lot of grit and they’ve been adding some offence to our team as well, so it’s been great to have them.”

This season has amounted to a reunion of Kämpf and Kaše, who were longtime teammates during their formative years as young Czech pros, and who still train together in the summer in their homeland. If they weren’t exactly a package deal, Kaše acknowledged that Kämpf’s decision to sign in Toronto in July on a two-year deal worth an annual average of about $1.5 million (U.S.) was a factor in him agreeing on a one-year deal worth $1.25 million a few days later.

“I kind of signed here because I knew (Kämpf) was here,” Kaše said. “I had a tough season last year. I need somebody like him, a good friend here, good chemistry with the guy.”

If they spend plenty of time together off the ice — Simmonds calls them the “Bobbsey Twins” on account of their inseparability — it clearly doesn’t hurt their compatibility on it.

“They already have backed-in chemistry, as you can tell,” Simmonds said.

Indeed, although Keefe clearly sees the third line as defence-first, Kaše especially doesn’t see it in precisely those terms.

He’s come up thinking of himself as an offensive player, after all. It was only a few years ago that he put up a 20-goal season in Anaheim.

And lately he’s shown more than occasional flashes of that skill. After managing just two points in the season’s opening13 games, Kaše has six points — four goals and two assists — in the past eight outings. Only Matthews has produced more. Kämpf, meanwhile, has three goals and two assists over that stretch.

Even if the Leafs aren’t looking to Kaše and Kämpf for offence, it’s safe to say they’ll take it for as long as they get it, heads up and fingers crossed.

SPORTS

en-ca

2021-11-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://torontostar.pressreader.com/article/282308208373225

Toronto Star Newspapers Limited