The Leafs' new award for Player of the Game is a beautiful WWE style championship belt given to them by none other than Adam ''Edge'' Copeland. The epic gift from ''The Rated R Superstar'' had replaced the game ball from the Championship winning 2019 Toronto Raptors that got passed around during the 2020-21 season. Whenever the Leafs win, a new player of the game is selected by the previous one. After the Leafs' win against the Penguins on Tuesday, the belt went to Matt Murray, who was stellar in his victory over his former team. After Saturday night's win at home over the Buffalo Sabres, it was Murray's turn to choose.
Murray had plenty of options to choose from. William Nylander had a 2-goal night, John Tavares scored a key goal with a bunch of stitches in his face and Mark Giordano scored his first goal of the season - shorthanded no less! Instead, Murray chose to recognize one of the Leafs' unsung heroes, handing the belt and player of the game honours to his best defensive center in David Kampf.
Kampf played 17:16 with one assist and 3 shots on net. What those numbers don't tell you is that he made a fantastic play to create Gio's opportunity for a shorthanded goal, won 9 draws, and played Buffalo to a stalemate while he was on the ice at 5-on-5. That's a solid night for a player who spends a lot of his minutes shorthanded and started 95% of his shifts in the defensive zone. It's easy to see why Murray, as a goaltender, would value the work Kampf puts in night in and night out.
I'll admit that I didn't know who David Kampf was when the Leafs signed him, but since joining the team, Kampf has been exactly what they needed. You may not like all of Kyle Dubas' moves, but this one has been a clear homerun for the Leafs. Hopefully Dubas can figure out a way to extend Kampf at a number that makes sense at some point this season or in the summer.
