What are next moves after Bruins opt to not qualify Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase?

Before the Bruins can dive headfirst into the feeding frenzy on Wednesday when UFAs can officially sign with new clubs, Don Sweeney and Co. had to handle some in-house business on Monday — as teams had until 5 p.m. ET to issue qualifying offers (QOs) to restricted free agents.

And despite noting last week that he planed to qualify all of his regular RFAs, Sweeney ultimately reversed course just ahead of Monday’s deadline — with the B’s opting to not issue QOs to Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase and Robert Lantosi. Both Zach Senyshyn and Callum Booth were issued qualifying offers.

Per CapFriendly, a qualifying offer is an official standard player contract that’s one year in length and can be subject to salary arbitration should the player be eligible. The qualifying offer is calculated from the player’s base salary. 

If the player rejects the qualifying offer, they still remain an RFA and their rights are maintained by the team. If a player does not receive a qualifying offer, they will become a UFA and will be free to sign with any club. 

Had Boston qualified both Ritchie and Kase and they signed their QOs, they would cost roughly $4.6 million against the cap in 2021 (Kase at $2.6 million / Ritchie at $2 million) — although you could make the argument that Ritchie likely would have opted for arbitration in order to secure a higher payout after tallying a career-high 15 goals in 2021. 

So why did the Bruins potentially opt to part ways with two players that entered the 2021 season as potential middle-six regulars? Well, in Kase’s case, it seems rather obvious — but Ritchie has a few more factors at play here. 

Freeing up cap space

The most logical reasoning for Boston potentially letting both Kase and Ritchie walk? Boston thinks it can utilize that roughly $4.6 million in cap room better elsewhere across the roster — whether that be beefing up the blue line, retaining David Krejci (or a potential replacement), finding a veteran goaltender and rounding out depth in the middle-six unit. 

Not qualifying Kase at that $2.6 million rate sure seemed like a no-brainer after the winger missed most of the 2021 season due to concussion issues, which is why most B’s fans went to DEFCON 5 after Sweeney noted last week that a QO was on the way for the Czech product. 

As for Ritchie, letting him walk and become a UFA is a bit of a tougher look given that he was effective at points last year (even winning the 7th Player Award), but when you factor in the slew of other bargain finds that should be available on the free-agent market Wednesday — especially with a number of talented forwards not qualified on Monday — Boston could replace Ritchie with a more impactful bottom-six forward at a cheaper price. 

Moving on from Ritchie could also open the door for Jake DeBrusk to return to his usual spot at 3LW — giving the hot-and-cold winger his regular spot back in the lineup in hopes that he can bounce back next to a healthy Charlie Coyle and either Craig Smith or an offseason addition. 

Even if Boston would have likely been fine with Ritchie accepting his QO at a $2 million cap hit, it sure seemed like a given that the power forward would have opted for arbitration after putting himself on a 20-25 goal pace last season over 82 games. If Boston didn’t want to be the team at the end of the day responsible for paying out Ritchie’s next big contract, perhaps the best option was to simply rip the band-aid off and let another team pay him that contract. 

Renegotiate contracts at a lower value 

One situation that I could certainly see playing out with Kase and the Bruins (if the winger wants to continue playing) is both parties hashing out a new, low-risk contract that would bring Kase back into the fold next year at say, a league minimum or $1 million contract. 

Even though Kase will now be a UFA come Wednesday, not qualifying a player is sometimes a tool that teams do to wipe the slate clean in terms of previous salary thresholds. While qualifying Kase at that $2.6 million payout would be foolish for Boston given Kase’s injury concerns and his lack of production with the B’s, bringing him back on a cheap “prove it” deal is much more palatable.

Granted, that doesn't mean that Boston should just have a starting spot in the middle six penciled in for Kase next year, but there’s little risk in bringing the forward back and seeing what he can bring you in camp. If he stays healthy? That’s great for Boston’s depth and could push other forwards for playing time. And if he unfortunately gets hurt or his play has dipped, it’d be easy to either LTIR him or move forward without a hefty cap hit hampering your club. 

Boston could also circle back with Ritchie and try to sign him to a cheaper deal as a UFA after taking the arbitration route of the equation by not qualifying him — although there’s a far greater chance that another team will pay him more in line with what he’s looking for. 

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B’s reportedly acquire signing rights to James Greenway 

The Bruins didn’t acquire a surefire solution to their vacancies on the blue line Monday afternoon, but they did add a potentially intriguing prospect into the mix in James Greenway — with the B’s acquiring the 23-year-old defenseman’s signing rights from the Maple Leafs in exchange for future considerations. 

James Greenway, the younger brother of Minnesota Wild forward Jordan Greenway, is very similar to his brother in that he plays a bruising game thanks to his 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame. But make no mistake about it, if the B’s ink James Greenway to a contract later this summer, the blueliner will be a project in Boston’s system.

Drafted by Toronto in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Greenway is a toolsy player that has yet to put it all together — spending two years at the University of Wisconsin before playing with Dubuque (USHL) in 2018-19. He wrapped up his collegiate career with two seasons at Maine, racking up 15 points and 89 penalty minutes over 48 games with the Black Bears. 

Boston has until Aug. 15 to sign Greenway before he becomes a free agent. Given the low cost to acquire him, it can’t hurt the B’s to add a physical player like Greenway into the fold, with Boston set to give him a chance to prove his worth with either Providence or Portland. 

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B’s sign Wolff 

In the midst of Boston’s qualifying-offer news dump, the club also announced that it signed defenseman Nick Wolff to a one-year, two-way contract with an NHL cap hit of $750,000.

The 6-foot-5, 229-pound blueliner was solid in his first campaign up in the AHL ranks — recording two assists over 24 games with Providence in 2021. The Minnesota Duluth product is a physical presence on a D corps, drawing some comparisons to other bruisers like Adam McQuaid. 

He likely needs more seasoning down in the AHL, but the 25-year-old Wolff could find himself up in Boston as a depth piece if his game continues to show improvement in 2021-22.