It was a bad news day for Scott Laughton and the Maple Leafs and a strange news day for David Kämpf .
The Leafs announced Friday that Laughton, who had been centring the fourth line throughout training camp, would be out “week to week” after suffering a lower-body injury blocking a shot in Thursday night’s 3-1 exhibition loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
“It’s a tough loss for him and us,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “It’s a bad break. He’s had a real good camp. Tough for everybody.”
The announcement appeared to give new life to Kämpf. He returned to a familiar position as the team’s fourth-line centre between Steven Lorentz and Easton Cowan heading into Saturday’s exhibition season finale in Detroit.
“It feels better when you’re in (one of the) first four lines,” Kämpf said.