We know what the Leafs were thinking with the David Kampf addition. It was their exact same logic behind the Riley Nash acquisition before the trade deadline (the timing coming off of the injury at playoff time just didn’t work out with Nash).
The Leafs want a checking center who can take defensive-zone draws and can be spotted in for tough assignments. They have two top-six lines that should be maximized in terms of the scoring situations they’re deployed in — and should have their minutes shaved down a little overall in Matthews and Marner’s case.