Steven Kampfer, a 32-year-old Bruins defenseman, will be making his way to Russia to play in the KHL. Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL announced they agreed to sign Kampfer to a one-year contract on July 5.
The Michigan native played 20 games this season and finished with a mediocre two goals and five points. The 2007 fourth-round pick started his career in Boston in 2010 as a 22-year-old before bouncing around the league. He played for the Minnesota Wild in 2012, the Florida Panthers during 2014-16, and New York Rangers from 2016-18. He’s played 113 career games for Boston with 10 goals and 25 points on his resume.
Due to Kampfer undergoing season-ending hand surgery, he missed his second consecutive postseason with the Bruins. For a team that had only three defensemen play in every playoff game, the Bruins would’ve benefitted from a healthy Kampfer to man the blue line.
Kampfer will join a KHL team that finished second in their conference with a 36-16 record and also has Par Lindholm, an ex-teammate of Kampfer’s. Lindholm played on the Bruins from 2019-21 but only played in 41 games for the club, including just one game in 2021. The two former Bruins should get a lot more ice time in Russia with their new team.