NHL Notebook: Steven Kampfer makes call to opt out of Return to Play plan; Bruins announce training camp roster

Over 30 Boston and Providence players are set to take to the ice Monday morning at Warrior Ice Arena, signaling the start of Phase 3 of the NHL’s extensive “Return To Play” plan.

But one veteran blueliner will not be spotted on the sheet at the Bruins’ team facility, as Steven Kampfer announced on social media Saturday night that he has opted out of the revamped Stanley Cup Playoffs tournament — citing the health of his family. 

“After speaking with my wife, family and my agent, I have decided that I am opting out of the return to play,” Kampfer said on Twitter. “This was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. My wife and son have a congenital heart defect which can cause complications with Covid-19. We have taken this very seriously. Family will always be my priority. I will be rooting for my teammates and hope we can bring the Cup back to Boston! Everyone stay healthy and safe.” 

Kampfer is, as of Saturday night, the seventh NHLer to opt out of the league’s return this summer — joining Karl Alzner, Mike Green, Sven Baertschi, Travis Hamonic, Roman Polak and Zach Trotman. 

Per the terms of the Return to Play protocols and CBA extension that were ratified on Friday evening, players have until Monday to inform their clubs if they are going to opt out of the NHL’s return. 

I don't think I'm really breaking any new ground here — given the times we're currently living in — but please spare me any and all faux outrage that's inevitably going to spout out as more of these athletes have the audacity to value the health and wellbeing of themselves and their family over the game of hockey.

As Kampfer noted in his announcement, making the call to sit out of what could be a deep playoff run for Boston was "one of the hardest decisions" that he's ever had to make, but given the potential health complications involving both Kampfer's wife and son, who just recently celebrated his first birthday, there should be absolutely no qualms from anyone about his decision to put family first in this scenario.

From an X's and O's perspective,



it would have been pretty surprising if Kampfer wasn't tagged as one of the 31 players the Bruins would bring up to Toronto — had he opted in to the Return to Play plan. While he only appeared in 10 games for Boston this season (spending time either as a spare defenseman or down in Providence), Kampfer has been a solid pick-up for the B's over the last two seasons, with the Michigan native more than capable of jumping into the lineup and logging steady minutes in case of injury on the blue line.

Kampfer made his presence felt during Boston's run to the Cup Final last season, scoring a goal in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Carolina. He appeared in three total games during that playoff push, including Game 5 of the Cup Final against St. Louis. The loss of Kampfer does present a bit of a hit to Boston's pool of right-shot, depth defensemen — although both Connor Clifton and John Moore (a left-shot, but capable of making such a switch) are expected to be the first men up in case Bruce Cassidy needs to call in the reserves.

Bruins announce Phase 3 roster

With Kampfer opting out, the Bruins officially released their roster for Phase 3 (full training camp) — which will get underway with a morning skate on Monday. In total, 29 skaters were invited, along with four netminders.

Forwards: Patrice Bergeron, Anders Bjork, Anton Blidh, Paul Carey, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, Trent Frederic, Ondrej Kase, David Krejci, Sean Kuraly, Karson Kuhlman, Par Lindholm, Brad Marchand, Joakim Nordstrom, David Pastrnak, Nick Ritchie, Zach Senyshyn, Jack Studnicka, Chris Wagner

Defensemen: Brandon Carlo, Zdeno Chara, Connor Clifton, Matt Grzelcyk, Torey Krug, Jeremy Lauzon, Charlie McAvoy, John Moore, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril

Goaltenders: Jaroslav Halak, Max Lagace, Tuukka Rask, Dan Vladar

Other than Kampfer's decision to opt-out, there really weren't too many surprises here — as every player listed here made the list we projected for Boston's camp roster back in June. 

It's more or less the usual suspects we all expected when it comes to the Providence call-ups taking part in this postseason — with blue-chip prospects like Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic presenting plenty of intrigue when it comes to their chances of potentially drawing into Boston's lineup.

Still, while Studnicka has high-end offensive talent that could translate to a middle-six role — and Frederic's ornery style of play could translate well to the snarl of playoff hockey — Cassidy did note last week that any Providence skater has quite the uphill battle when it comes to supplanting a regular in Boston's lineup. 

As for those wondering why a promising netminder like Jeremy Swayman didn't make the cut — the University of Maine's star goalie is not eligible to play this summer — given that no current-year contracts were allowed when it came to college free agents and ELC deals back in March.

This B's roster will skate and practice at Warrior Ice Arena through July 26 — when they will travel up to Toronto and settle into their new home, Hotel X, for the next few months. There is a limit on the number of skaters allowed per team in the traveling party (max of 28), so one forward or defenseman is going to have to be cut before the team heads north.

Injuries already sprouting up in Tampa

Teams haven’t even officially opened camp yet for Phase 3, but one top Stanley Cup contender has already been stung with the injury bug. 

Speaking with the media on Saturday, Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois announced star forward Steven Stamkos will be limited during camp due to a lower-body injury that he suffered during voluntary workouts in Phase 2. 

Stamkos was already sidelined with a core muscle at the time of the NHL’s pause — putting his availability for the start of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs at risk, back when the postseason was slated to get underway as usual in April. 

While BriseBois noted that Stamkos has recovered from that core injury, this latest ailment presents another hurdle for the Bolts, who are looking to put last year's brutal upset by Columbus in the rearview mirror. BriseBois did note that Stamkos should be cleared for a return by the time the play-in round begins for Tampa on August 3, but any nagging injury is almost certainly going to be magnified during this playoff run — especially given the rapid ramp-up of game action and the compressed schedule that the NHL is dealing with over the coming months. 

A healthy Stamkos is clearly going to be crucial for the Bolts, with the Tampa Bay captain tallying 23 goals in 41 career games against the Bruins.

No injury disclosures?

Folks, it's time to brace yourselves. Because we're going to be dealing with a LOT of injury speculation once hockey officially resumes next month.

In a statement released by the NHL's PR department on Saturday, the league announced that teams will not be permitted to disclose player injury and/or illness information during both Phases 3 and 4 — with the league itself announcing positive test results (without releasing individual player of team identities) through both phases.

https://twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/1282061583410245635

While this move was designed to protect medical privacy, it's going to lead to plenty of questions if/when we get to a point where "Player X" is not spotted on the ice during practice in the coming weeks. While a team would usually disclose a reasoning for an absence (even something as vague as an "upper" or "lower-body injury" would suffice, don't expect such transparency during this postseason.