BUFFALO – Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis has a pretty good understanding
of all that Mason Raymond can offer.
Giacca Moncler Uomo Offerte . But when it
comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when
training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to
the head coach. “Its not really me,” Nonis said, minutes before the Leafs and
Sabres squared off at First Niagara Center on Saturday. “Im comfortable with
Mason. I know what hes like as a person and I think everyone is comfortable with
him as a player. Its where Randy sees him. Where does he fit in the lineup?”
Nonis and his management team will certainly have their input in the series of
roster decisions still looming for the Leafs, but according to Nonis, Carlyle
will have the final say. “I cant tell him to put someone into the lineup that he
doesnt want in the lineup,” Nonis opined of the decision-making process. “He has
full control over who makes this team and who doesnt. But we all spend a lot of
time discussing the benefits of certain people and their strengths and
weaknesses. I think its a pretty healthy relationship and open dialogue both
ways to make sure that were all on the same page and were all pushing toward the
same goal with the same pieces.” Signed to a professional tryout on the eve of
training camp and a second round selection of Nonis in Vancouver, Raymond is
among the more intriguing pieces vying for a place on the Toronto roster. With
loads of speed and a fair amount of skill, the now 27-year-old offers Carlyle
the prospect of depth and versatility in the forward ranks. Scoring twice in his
first two exhibition matches, he has made an immediate impression. Surely a more
complex case for the head coach is 19-year-old Morgan Rielly, whom the Leafs can
either keep in the NHL or return to the junior circuit in Moose Jaw. “Hes making
it as hard as I thought hed make it,” Nonis said of Rielly, who suited up for
the first three exhibition games, sitting out in Buffalo. Carlyle suggested at
the outset of camp that the determination process with Rielly would lie in
whether he could capably contribute 12-15 minutes a night or was better off
dominating with the Warriors, conceding the value of both options. “Randy knows
what hes looking for,” Nonis continued. “He had a different player but a pretty
good example of that in Cam Fowler. I think he was always looking for [Fowler]
to falter and he never did and Randy used him more and more. And if he wouldve
faltered Im sure Randy wouldve pulled him out. Thats the same kind of scenario
here with Morgan. If hes ready then hell go in.” Though Nonis stated explicitly
that Carlyle has final say on roster decisions, the coach, for one, seems to
value the opinions of those around him, taking stock of a range of voices across
the organization before settling on a decision. “We converse daily, sometimes
two or three times a day,” Carlyle said of his conversations with management
after a lengthy 3-2 shootout victory. “If its not [Dave Nonis], its [Dave
Poulin], its Claude Loiselle, Cliff Fletcher, Bobby Carpenters here, Steve
Kaspers around; theres an armada of management that we make sure that we all
have a voice and an opinion. We as a coaching staff talk behind closed doors
quite a bit ourselves about what our feelings are and we want to make sure were
consistent with what we see and we voice our opinion to the management staff.
“When youre in the situation were in I think that you try to take everybodys
opinion.” “Well have long discussions about it,” Nonis concluded. “Its probably
the same way that I use Randy whe