The Bruins will not cut ties with any of their restricted free agents, with Bruins general manager Don Sweeney confirming that the team will issue qualifying offers to Ondrej Kase, Nick Ritchie, and Zach Senyshyn.
The news on Kase was certainly a bit surprising, as Kase, who appeared in just three games this season (leaving two of them before the final horn due to concussion issues) had a $2.6 million qualifying offer to his name. But it is worth noting that the Bruins and Kase could negotiate down from that number, which almost has to be the case, you’d assume, given Kase’s health.
Acquired from the Ducks in Feb. 2020 in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick, David Backes, and defensive prospect Axel Andersson, Kase totaled one assist in nine regular-season games with the Bruins, and four assists in 11 games during the 2020 postseason inside the Toronto bubble.
Ritchie, meanwhile, will stay factored into the Bruins’ plans after the Kraken opted for defenseman Jeremy Lauzon.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Ritchie is coming off a career-high 15 goals in 2021. It’ll be interesting to see where the Bruins ultimately land with Ritchie, too, as he had a great bounce-back regular season but appeared to slow down tremendously through the postseason, with just one assist over his final seven playoff contests.
Arbitration is an option if the Bruins and Ritchie are unable to find the right number.
And then there’s Senyshyn.
The No. 15 overall pick from the 2015 NHL Draft, Senyshyn had seven goals and 13 points in 18 games with the P-Bruins this past season, and has one empty-net goal and two assists in 14 NHL games over the last three seasons.
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
