The Czech forward was limited to one game with the Carolina Hurricanes last season due to concussion issues.
Ondrej Kase is going home.
The 27-year-old has signed on to play with Czechia club HC Litvinov.
Kase, who is from Kadan, Czechia, has had an NHL career plagued with concussion issues but appeared to find his game again in his only season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021-22. In that campaign, Kase had 14 goals and added 13 assists in 50 games, a remarkable feat given the forward had been limited to just three games with the Boston Bruins the season before.
The Maple Leafs elected not to tender Kase a qualifying offer in the summer of 2022 but not for a lack of interest in keeping the speedy forward. But rather, they were concerned about the arbitration award he’d receive that the Leafs wouldn’t be able to walk away from. Rather than re-negotiate with the Leafs, Kase promptly signed with the Carolina Hurricanes for one season at $1.5 million. He played in the opening night contest but missed the rest of the season with concussion issues.
“Litvinov was the number one choice for me. I had other offers, but they didn't make sense to me. I wanted to play with my brother and I also wanted to be closer to home,” Kase said in a translated release. "I was attracted by the opportunity to take on the role of a leader and help the team to the higher levels of the table.”
Ondrej’s brother, David, signed with Litvinov back in May.
When healthy, Kase can be an effective player who can play a 200-foot game and score goals. Litvinov head coach Karel Mlejnek said in the release that they “firmly believe that Ondrej’s health will allow him to fully return to hockey.”
For his sake, here’s hoping that is the case.
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