Former Maple Leaf decided he'd rather move than accept the same deal from Toronto
Last year the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Ondrej Kase to a one-year deal to help rebuild his value in the market. Concussions and other injuries had derailed his career on Boston, but he'd hoped for a fresh start with the Maple Leafs. One key contributor was the fact that Kase's best friend, David Kampf had also signed with the Maple Leafs.
Fast forward one year and 50 games, and unfortunately Kase missed another 32 games due to injuries. Over the course of the year though Kase out up 27 points, including 14 goals. So many felt there would be a fit for Kase to stay with the Leafs.
The Maple Leafs elected to leave Kase unqualified due to their fear of his potential arbitration award amount. But the Leafs circled back and tried to re-sign Kase.
Kase and his representatives elected to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes instead. According to Pierre LeBrun, the Maple Leafs offered Kase the exact same deal he ultimately signed in Carolina. So despite all the things involved, Kase decided he'd rather move than remain a member of the Maple Leafs.
This is not a great sign for Kyle Dubas who is in desperate need of value contracts in his lineup, but could show that players don't feel Toronto is trending in the right direction.
| POLL | ||
Will the Maple Leafs be better or worse next year? | ||
| Better | 54 | 16.2 % |
| Worse | 185 | 55.4 % |
| Unchanged | 95 | 28.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
