Report: Leafs pushed hard to bring Ondrej Kase back; it was Kase who wanted out
Every year, we see players opt to leave their respective teams in free agency. Sometimes, it's due to a lack of cap space and an unwillingness to take a team-friendly deal, and other times, the money isn't the issue and it's the player who wants out for his own reasons.
According to Pierre LeBrun, the Leafs wanted to keep Ondrej Kase this summer, but the Czech winger opted to go another route after being left without a qualifying offer. LeBrun has reported that the Leafs offered Kase a 1-year deal worth $1.5M after choosing not to offer him a qualifying offer. Kase however, chose to join the Carolina Hurricanes on a similar deal.
The Leafs chose not to qualify Kase likely due to the injury issues he dealt with last season. They seemingly believed that an arbitrator could award Kase more money than they felt he was worth. Kase skated in just 50 games for the Buds last season due to injury issues - most concerning, another concussion he suffered.
When in the lineup, Kase was a versatile forward that spent most of his time on the third line, but also played limited minutes alongside John Tavares and William Nylander and even had a cup of coffee on the top line with Auston Matthews when Mitch Marner was sidelined. In 50 games for the Leafs, Kase put up 13 goals and 27 points and was an effective penalty killer alongside new Vancouver Canuck Ilya Mikheyev.
It would have been great if the Leafs were able to keep Kase, but given the cap constraints the Leafs constantly face, the money simply wasn't there for a big raise and it seems as though Kase felt his position in the lineup was in jeopardy with many prospects like Joey Anderson, Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg looking to make the jump to the NHL this season.
