Now a week into testing the NHL free agent market, one former Vancouver Canuck has signed a contract to play overseas next season.

Former Canuck centreman David Kämpf has signed a one-year deal with HC Litvinov of the Extra-League in Czechia.

In an interview with CT Sports, translated by Google Translate, Kämpf shared he had been thinking about signing in his home country for some time now.

“I had been thinking about returning to the Czech Republic for a long time, it had been nine difficult years overseas. I felt that it was time to return home and find a team near where I live. Chomutov plays in the first league, so I decided on Litvínov, which I have had a relationship with since childhood, when I went to matches there.”

Kämpf signed with the Chicago Blackhawks as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He spent four seasons with Chicago before signing a two-year deal in Toronto. Over these two years with the Maple Leafs, Kämpf reached 25+ points for the first time in his career, earning himself a four-year, $2.4 million AAV extension in 2023 that would have expired at the conclusion of the upcoming 2026-27 campaign.

However, after starting the season in the American League, Kämpf and the Maple Leafs mutually agreed to terminate the remaining two years of his contract. That was a lot of money for the career fourth-line centreman to leave on the table. However, Kämpf had his sights set on playing in the NHL to build his case for making the Czechia Olympic team.

Once he became a free agent in mid-November, Kämpf signed a one-year, $1.1 million deal with the Canucks for the remainder of the season. Suffering through injuries down the middle, Vancouver was the destination primed to give Kämpf the most playing time to showcase his talents for the Olympics.

He went on to play a defensive-minded role in Vancouver, adding two goals and six points in 38 games before getting shipped off to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick (Lucian Bernat). Kämpf ran into work visa issues and the birth of a child, which resulted in him playing just two games for the Capitals.

Now, Kämpf will return home to continue his hockey career. In that same interview with CT Sports, the Czech native shared that hockey has been more like a job than enjoyable for him. He is looking forward to finding the joy in the sport again now that he is returning home to play:

“In the NHL, it’s been more of a job for me in recent years, I didn’t enjoy hockey much. I’m looking forward to getting more space here, gaining new momentum and having fun with hockey again. A huge attraction and one of the main reasons for my arrival was also the opportunity to play again with the Kaš brothers, whom I’ve known since childhood.”