Blackhawks: What David Kampf’s contract could look like next season

Going into last night’s game, David Kampf led the Chicago Blackhawks in faceoff wins with 110, and he had the best faceoff percentage at 55.6%. Those numbers could influence his next contract.

Despite only having two assists through the first 16 games of the season, David Kampf is playing a critical role within the Chicago Blackhawks organization. Kampf is not someone who is going to score goals on command, and he is not being asked to do so, rather the team needs him to win faceoffs.

With Kirby Dach and Jonathan Toews out of the lineup this season, the Blackhawks are having to turn to other players to win faceoffs for the team. Kampf has been one of the players so far.

Winning the faceoff is a critical part of any game, especially for a team that is only winning games by a goal and is in a lot of close matchups. The Blackhawks need to win faceoffs to get possession of the puck and start any play on the right note – that brings us to what David Kampf brings to the team.

David Kampf is on the last year of his one million dollar contract and bringing him back next season is going to be something the team wants to do.

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David Kampf is starting 75 percent of his zone starts in the defensive zone at even strength. Kampf is an essential part of not only this team but the team’s long term success. While there might be some better centers ahead of him on the team, Kampf is the best at playing in his own end, and his Fenwick numbers show that as he is third on the team with a 54.9 percent.

The Blackhawks have a lot of question marks on their team down the line, but David Kampf should not be one of them. He is a similar player to Marcus Kruger, a great defensive forward that can factor in on the penalty kill and do his part on the fourth line. Seeing that he is just 26 years old, Kampf still has a lot of hockey ahead of him, and hopefully, it is all with the Blackhawks. ‘

Considering the ‘Hawks gave Marcus Kruger a three million dollar contract in the past, what they are going to give Kampf is anyone’s guess. I hope the team learned from past mistakes and won’t commit too much to Kampf. Maybe 2 million for the next two years or 1.5 for three could be proficient to bring the two groups back together for another season.

David Kampf is a forward that is great for the depth of any team in the NHL, just look at his numbers from last night. Kampf won 5 faceoffs and only lost 6 his faceoff percentage at 45 percent was not his best, but it is still something the team can work with. We even saw it to begin the overtime period last night. Kampf took the first faceoff as he was the best option for the team.

Next season having David Kampf with the team along with Toews, Strome, Dach, Suter, and Kurashev will definitely help the team win faceoffs constantly throughout the game.