One of the Vancouver Canucks traded at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline has had some complications arriving at his new club.

Former Canucks centreman David Kämpf, who was traded to the Washington Capitals just before the deadline passed in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick, has yet to make his debut with his new squad.

According to Capitals insider Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network, Kämpf’s Washington debut will be further delayed as he has now returned to Vancouver to be with his wife, who is expecting ‘very soon’.

And in his Monday morning column, PostMedia’s Patrick Johnston shared that he has spoken with the NHL and NHLPA regarding the matter:

The other three Canucks traded at this past deadline have all made their debut with their respective teams; however, Conor Garland, Tyler Myers and Lukas Reichel have all either played in the USA this season or have American citizenship, so this was not an issue for them. But Kämpf, who’s played in Canada for the last five years, was not so lucky.

A similar situation happened with Bobby McMann, who was traded to the Seattle Kraken from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the deadline but missed over a week (three games) due to visa issues before making his debut against the Canucks – where he scored a pair and added an assist.

Amid the Canucks’ injury troubles down the middle at the start of the season, they signed Kämpf after his contract with the Maple Leafs was terminated. In 38 games in Vancouver, Kämpf scored two goals and four assists for six points with a minus-12 rating despite averaging the most ice-time per game of his career (15:02).