Days after general manager Don Sweeney said he would be issuing qualifying offers to restricted free agents Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase, the Bruins in fact did not issues qualifying offers to the two forwards, making them unrestricted free agents when free agency opens Wednesday afternoon.

So just days later, why the change of heart?

Well, maybe it wasn’t a change of heart after all and Sweeney was playing a little cat and mouse with the Seattle Kraken.

Had the Kraken had interest in selecting Ritchie in the expansion draft, Sweeney revealing his true intentions with Ritchie would likely have steered the Kraken in a different direction, knowing they could take a different player from the Bruins and later signing Ritchie once he hit the open market.

As we know, the Kraken took defenseman Jeremy Lauzon instead.

Ritchie’s qualifying offer would have come in at $2 million per season, but if the two ended up in arbitration, Ritchie would have certainly been awarded more than that after a season that saw Ritchie score a career high 15 goals.

Kase was in a bit of a different boat than Ritchie, facing a qualifying offer of $2.6 million, much more than he’s proven to be worth given his tough luck with injuries since his trade to Boston from Anaheim.

While both Kase and Ritchie could still re-sign with the Bruins when free agency begins, that’s less likely for the latter. If Kase proves to be healthy, I can see the Bruins bringing him back on a low cost deal, hoping for the best.

The Bruins did extend qualifying offers to forward Zach Senyshyn and goaltender Callum Booth. They also signed defenseman Nick Wolff to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000.

Join the Discussion: » 36 Comments » Post New Comment

» The End of an Era?

» Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman in Game 7?

» Home Not So Sweet Home

» Bruins Depth On Full Display In Sunrise Sweep

» Bruins Drop Game 2 After Ugly Performance