Jason Botterill will serve as general manager on an interim b

TORONTO – Mason Raymond was coming off what he believed to be a pretty good sixth season in Vancouver. He scored 10 goals in 46 games and entered the summer of 2013 as an unrestricted free agent for the first time. But when September rolled around and training camps were due to open in a matter of days, Raymond found himself without the safety and security of a contract. “We all knew what was happening with the cap,” he told the Leaf Report. “But did I think Id be in that situation? No, not at all.” Amid the now forgotten wreckage of the last NHL lockout was the plunge in the caps upper limit from $70 million in 2013 to $64.3 million this fall. The dip in available dollars and subsequent uncertainty left many veterans, like Raymond and new Leaf Jerred Smithson, searching with frustration for amenable contracts, often with little or no success. Though he had played in over 300 NHL games and had scored 25 goals as recently as 2010, Raymond had no better option but a professional tryout in Toronto on the eve of training camp. Suffice it to say, the lack of opportunity took him by surprise and remains a source of bewilderment. “I had a good year last year,” said the 27-year-old, who totaled 22 points in his final season with the Canucks. “I fully expected something to materialize. To be honest, I didnt really know that youd come into a team on a tryout five days before camp opened. I was optimistic and so was my agent, but it just seemed like for whatever reason a lot of players got stuck in the situation that I did.” There was a general sense among teams, including the Leafs, that cost-effective opportunities might present themselves because of the cap crunch this summer. But to find Raymond available on the eve of training camp was certainly an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Inked to a one-year contract for an even $1 million, he has proven a valuable find so far. Averaging what would be a career-high of 19 minutes, Raymond has scored five goals and 11 points in 17 games. His speedy presence, amid a 10-game suspension to David Clarkson and early injuries to Nik Kulemin, James van Riemsdyk and Joffrey Lupul, as well as current ones to Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland, has been an obvious aid to the Leafs, who sit third in the Atlantic division. “Ive always believed Im an NHL player,” Raymond said. “I thought that prior to coming to camp, I thought that all summer and I think that to this day. You have to go out and prove that more importantly to yourself, I think. Im a big believer that, [if] you do the right things, play some good hockey, everything else will take care of itself.” Some fled to Europe with no jobs to be found as the summer months waned and became fall. Others stuck around and remained as patient as possible, Raymond and Smithson, a veteran of 588 career games prior to this season, among them. “I knew the situation,” said Smithson, in conversation with the Leaf Report. “I knew the cap was going down, but nothing can really prepare you for that. I figured I was still good enough to get a job, get a one-way deal somewhere and, when it didnt happen, it was tough. It was not so much humbling, but more frustrating. I knew it was a possibility, but once it really hit, it [was] not a good feeling.” Unlike Raymond, Smithson wasnt able to land even a tryout in the NHL, but one instead with the Marlies of the AHL. It was mid-October. He and his fiancé were parents of a newborn baby. Patience had been predictably difficult to keep. “I knew right away I wasnt obviously a big name, that teams were going to go after the first few days, so I was prepared to be patient – maybe not this patient, but prepared to be patient,” he said. “Once August rolled around and still, there wasnt anything that was really coming out at me. There were a few tryout offers or two-way deals, but nothing that I was really willing to bite on right away.” Smithson and his agent were forced to give a good, long look to Europe. “It was never a dream of mine to go over to Europe,” he said. “And I made that clear to my agent right away that Im willing to be as patient as I can. It was obviously a lot harder than I originally thought, but it worked out.” Injuries to Bozak and Bolland finally opened a door back into the NHL for Smithson last week - the 34-year-old signed a one-year deal for the veteran minimum of $550,000. A noted faceoff specialist and penalty killer, he has quickly gained an important role for Randy Carlyle, plugging the gap of the two injured centres in both regards. “Im not a big fan of the term ‘it is what is, but I cant control [the cap crunch],” said Smithson, who played seven seasons in Nashville, also making stops in Los Angeles, Florida and Edmonton. “I could just control my attitude and try to stay in the best shape as I possibly could and, if a phone call came, just be ready for when that opportunity knocked. Im very grateful for the opportunity the Leafs gave me, with the Marlies and with them, [and Im] just looking to take advantage of it.” Though Smithson projects as more of a stop-gap option, Raymond could earn himself a larger contract next summer with a productive season. Two years ago, Clarke MacArthur joined the Leafs late in the summer on a bargain one-year deal, worth $1.1 million. Now a member of the Ottawa Senators, MacArthur busted out with a career season that first year in Toronto, subsequently signing a two-year deal worth $6.5 million the following offseason. Raymond could be in line for something similar if he remains productive. At the very least, with the cap expected to rise once more, he is unlikely to find himself in such a precarious position again. "Thats hockey, thats life, thats the cards you were dealt and you have to deal with it,” Raymond said of the cap crunch this past summer. “You can sit here and say the what ifs, whatevers, and all that, but it was a situation and, unfortunately, it happened to some of us. I think [the cap was] the reason, [but] I dont know the exact reason. For [Smithsons] sake and my sake things have worked out well.” Marquez Valdes-Scantling Packers Jersey . Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. Oren Burks Packers Jersey . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. http://www.packersrookiestore.com/Packers-Jaire-Alexander-Jersey/ . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. JK Scott Packers Jersey . Jones, from Winnipeg, built a 3-0 advantage after three ends by scoring two in the second and one in the third. Chinas skip Bingyu Wang cut that lead to 3-1 in the fourth before Canada added another three in the fifth for a 6-1 lead. JK Scott Jersey . Mako Vunipola was promoted from the reserves, with Matt Mullan called up to the bench on Thursday. "It is important that Joe is with his partner at this exciting time," England coach Stuart Lancaster said.PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins hired Ray Shero as general manager eight years ago with the mandate to build a roster around two of the games brightest stars and turn ticker-tape parades through downtown into an annual rite of spring. Nearly a decade -- but just one Stanley Cup later -- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin find themselves on a perennially underachieving team. And Shero finds himself out of a job. The Penguins fired Shero on Friday, three days after another early playoff exit, this one a seven-game loss to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Coach Dan Bylsma remains in charge until Sheros replacement gets a chance to evaluate the entire organization top to bottom. "We share the disappointment of our fans that we have not had success in the playoffs over the past five seasons," co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle said in a joint statement. "We believe that new leadership in the general managers office will bring a new approach and new energy, and help us return to championship form." Assistant general manager Jason Botterill will serve as general manager on an interim basis. Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse called Botterill a candidate to take over and believes whomever the team brings in wont need to make major changes on a club that won 51 games in 2013-14. "Its not a complete rebuild," Morehouse said. "This is a team that has had a level of success. What were trying to do now is get from good to great." Its a destination the Penguins reached only briefly during Sheros tenure, spending most of the time in a murky middle ground that made them one of the leagues model franchises during the regular season but a symbol of disappointment once the calendar crept into May and beyond. Pittsburgh won the franchises third Cup in 2009 but has failed to produce a bookend. Pittsburgh is just 4-5 in playoff series over the last five years after blowing a 3-1 series lead against New York. Morehouse didnt blame the 51-year-old Sheros ouster on one specific misstep. "This is a decision thats been in the works for a long time since weve won the Cup," Morehouse said. "We wanted to get back to the Stanley Cup finals and we havent and were going to make some changes." The Penguins brought Shero in before the 2006-07 season and tasked him with finding the right kind of players to complement Crosby and Malkins otherworldly offensive talent. It culminated on a giddy night in Detroit in 2009, when the Penguins edged the Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 to earn the franchises third Cup, a run that included the crucial trade deadline acquisitions of forwards Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. It was supposed to mark the beginning of a dyynasty.dddddddddddd. Yet five seasons have come and gone with the Penguins in a familiar position: watching the final stages of the playoffs go on without them. It hasnt been for lack of trying. Shero remained aggressive in investing in a "win now" mode as the ensuing disappointments piled up. He enthusiastically said the Penguins were "all in" last year after trading for Jarome Iginla, Jussi Jokinen, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray. The moves often created headlines but little else, and boatloads of regular-season victories and a sellout streak seven years and counting proved no longer good enough. Whether Bylsma will be along for the ride remains unclear. The affable, open-minded Michigan native was a revelation when the Penguins promoted him from their American Hockey League affiliate in the spring of 2009, hoping his optimism would help a loaded team break out of a midseason funk. It worked brilliantly. Four months after taking the job, the former NHL nomad who spent nine seasons as a gritty fourth-line forward was raising the Cup in ecstasy. Considering Crosby and Malkin were both in their early 20s at the time, champagne toasts were expected. A half-decade later, Bylsma is the winningest coach in franchise history with 252 wins but the wait for another Cup run continues. While Pittsburgh enjoyed nearly unparalleled success from October to April -- including easily capturing the Metropolitan Division this year despite losing more than 500-man games to injury -- the Penguins again struggled to adapt in the post-season. Morehouse said the new general manager will determine whether Bylsma and the rest of the staff gets another shot. The 43-year-old Bylsma has two years remaining on his contract, the product of an extension he received last June as a vote of confidence from Shero following a four-game sweep at the hands of Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. The deal came with a promise to adopt a more defensive-minded approach. The Penguins even brought in longtime NHL coach Jacques Martin as an assistant, an old-school yin to Bylsmas new-school yang. Crosby took the blame for the teams underperformance as the Penguins cleared out their locker on Thursday. A day later the general manager ordered to put the leagues leading scorer in a position to keep Pittsburgh at the top was cleaning out his office. Whoever ends up redecorating will have his tough choices to make. At the same time, he gets to start with Crosby and Malkin firmly entrenched. Both players are signed through the rest of the decade. There are worse places to start. "A lot of teams would like to be where we are," Morehouse said. "However we do have high expectations and we do want to get to them." 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