Ondrej Kase
Ondrej Kase entered the 2021-22 season in Toronto with a big question mark surrounding him. Everyone wanted to know if he could stay healthy and be a good depth signing.
He was a good depth signing, but he did not stay healthy. Kase is just too fragile for the way he plays. It’s unfortunate, because he could be a very good top-six forward if he could play a full season.
55% Expected Goals and a scoring rate of 1.89 points per 60 minutes of 5v5 icetime are extremely strong numbers (its second line scoring).
Kase only played in 50 games registering 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points. He spent a bit of time playing in Toronto’s top-six but played on the third line with Kampf regularly. His ability to win puck battles was a bonus, as he had 28 takeaways compared to 16 giveaways. Kase averaged 13:59 of ice time during the regular season.
The fact that he scored at such a rate, while playing most of his minutes with a dedicated defensive line is very impressive. It’s too bad the Leafs couldn’t bring him back for another year.
Kase did manage to stay healthy enough to play in all seven playoff games against Tampa. He averaged 10:22 ice time and recorded three assists. Toronto was lucky to get 50 regular season games and seven playoff games from Kase. He had only played a combined 15 games the previous two seasons.
His grade is so low owing to his inability to stay healthy.