Fraser Minten Has Just Shown the Maple Leafs that David Kampf is Expendable

The 38th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Fraser Minten is off to an excellent start at the Toronto Maple Leafs in this weekend's rookie showcase. Having already played four NHL games for the Leafs during the 2023-24 season, Minten has proven that he has the skill set to be able to play in the NHL. His improvements over last year were evident in Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadiens prospects, when Minten made a crucial play, back-checking hard and catching a skater en route to what would have been a clear-cut breakaway.

Minten had a decent 2023-24 season after being sent down from the Maple Leafs. He recorded 48 points in 43 WHL games, split between the Kamloops Blazers and Saskatoon Blades. Additionally, he captained the Canadian squad at the IIHF World Juniors, showcasing his maturity and leadership skills.

Minten was ready last season, but has since been able to spend more time refining his two-way game and packing on some additional muscle and working a lot of his strength and conditioning. Does this mean moving David Kampf and reallocating his $2.4 million salary cap hit to strengthen other areas of the roster is a wise idea for Brad Treliving? It certainly might.

Whether Minten plays in the NHL full-time next season or spends some time with the Toronto Marlies as he continues along on his development path to start the year, it's clear that the Vancouver native is on track to make a significant impact in the NHL soon.

For Kampf, his two main areas of use are defensive zone faceoffs and on the penalty kill. If Minten can show that he can adequately fill these roles at a fraction of the price, the Leafs would be silly not to part ways with Kampf and save themselves some valuable cap dollars. I'll be interested to see how Treliving handles this situation if Minten shows well during training camp and the pre-season again this year.