Former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell opened up about his time with the Maple Leafs and the struggles he faced during his 10-year NHL career.
Campbell was a guest on the Cam and Stick podcast, where he explained his tenure with the Maple Leafs and went through the behind-the-scenes of the ups and downs the Port Huron native faced. The goaltender also provided details about the 2022 offseason, when he signed with the Edmonton Oilers .
"I would've given everything to stay in Toronto," Campbell said on the podcast. "I loved it, the boys, my connection with them. But they didn't offer the deal I felt I deserved and played at."
Campbell signed a $5 million-per-season contract that offseason, a commitment the Maple Leafs and former general manager Kyle Dubas simply couldn't afford to make at the time. It marked the largest contract of Campbell's career up to that point.
Campbell's first season with the Oilers didn't go to plan as he struggled mightily, with a career-worst .888 save percentage and a goals-against average of 3.41. This continued to translate into the 2023-24 season, where he only suited up in five games for the Oilers before being sent down to the AHL's Bakersfield Condors for the remainder of his Edmonton Oilers career. Campbell then later had a short stint with the Detroit Red Wings ' minor league team, the Grand Rapids Griffins, during the 2024-25 season before ending his career.
While Campbell had been performing strongly for the Maple Leafs over the final two seasons with the organization, he began to struggle mentally. Dubas attempted to help Campbell with his struggles and cared for the netminder deeply, Campbell noted.
"However, looking back and being real about it, Kyle cares a lot about the people behind how they're performing on the ice," Campbell recalled. "And so, he really cared about me and saw me struggling off the ice, especially with the booze, tried to help me, and I just wasn't ready. Therefore, looking back, it was totally clear why they probably wouldn't sign me to that same deal."
Although Campbell struggled with alcohol during the final stages of his time in Toronto, he expressed that it had nothing to do with his teammates or the pressure that comes with rocking the blue and white. Once Campbell had left the Maple Leafs, he couldn't stop thinking about all the great people and memories he made while being part of the organization.
"I was really comfortable there with my teammates, so it wasn't a depressed state; I was just having fun, but it was a lot," he admitted. "But it was amazing, the fans and everything. They love saying hello, telling you how great you are.
"Even when things weren't good, I was talking to myself way worse than they were ever talking to me. So that part didn't affect me that much."
Jack Campbell was truly a fan favourite in Toronto throughout all the highs and lows the team had faced. He stepped up time and time again for the Maple Leafs, especially when Frederik Andersen had struggled during the final year of his tenure with the Maple Leafs.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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