A return to form overseas and a strong showing for Czechia at the World Championship has free-agent winger Ondřej Kaše drawing interest from NHL scouts once again, The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reports Monday.
Kaše, 28, last suited up in the NHL with the Hurricanes in 2022-23. He skated just 11:02 in their season-opening win against the Blue Jackets before sustaining a concussion that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Concussion-related symptoms have plagued Kaše throughout much of his professional career, especially in recent seasons. They limited him to just three showings with the Bruins in 2020-21 as well. His last remotely healthy season before departing for Europe was with the Maple Leafs in 2021-22, when he provided some solid secondary scoring with 14 goals and 27 points in 50 games on a one-year deal.
In desperate need of a reset after essentially a completely lost season with Carolina, Kaše signed a one-year contract with the Czech Extraliga’s HC Litvínov to play with his younger brother, former Flyers depth piece David Kaše. Without a flare-up of his previous symptoms, he exploded for over a point per game, finishing third in the league in scoring with 23 goals and 54 points in 48 appearances. He’s also rattled off five points in six games for Czechia thus far at the Worlds.
A seventh-round pick of the Ducks back in 2014, Kaše has been a good rate scorer when healthy. In 258 career games with Anaheim, Boston, Carolina and Toronto, he has 57 goals and 124 points while shouldering middle-six minutes comfortably.
Speaking to Johnston, Kaše said he hasn’t experienced any setbacks since his October 2022 injury with the Canes. One of the members of his treatment team, Michigan-based sports concussion specialist Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, told Johnston that Kaše isn’t dealing with a “permanent brain injury” and doesn’t struggle with concussion symptoms in the traditional sense; rather, he has a “complex set of neurological variables that needed to be treated comprehensively.”
For teams looking to add a third- or fourth-line scoring winger, Kaše presents an intriguing high-ceiling, low-risk option. He wouldn’t cost much and has scored 20 goals once in his career, back in 2017-18 with the Ducks, and was on pace for more than 20 on two other occasions, including his 2021-22 campaign with Toronto.
Why? With another hit he is gonna be a vegetable.
Looking for 142 more games. Three year deal at league minimum.
Please don’t, imagine if Trouba hits him he’ll with one of those semi dirty hits guys life would be in jeopardy
Was it Dubas who signed Kase in TOR? I believe it was.
Pens should take a chance on him. He could win a middle six job if his form is back.
Could be a shrewd addition to a team’s top 9.
The Hawks are thin on the right side and can afford to take a chance on him. Obviously, they would need to keep him safe if at all possible.