There will be two replacements for Anthony Calvillo this season, only fitting for a player of his stature. Dermontti Dawson Black Jersey . Troy Smith has the unenviable task of trying to fill the surefire Hall of Famers shoes in Montreal, but Calvillo held another post, one for the entire CFL, and one that may now fall to the Toronto Argonauts Ricky Ray. While you could argue the face of the league is now a younger and more electric player; with Calvillo now in retirement, Ray assumes the role of patriarch, head of the league, arguably the greatest still-active player. With 11 years CFL experience, over 250 career touchdown passes, and multiple Grey Cup wins under his belt, Rays resume certainly lends to the idea he could be the next head of state in the CFL. And at 35-years-old, hell have at least a few years to hold that mantle, so long as he plays into his 40s like Calvillo or past patriarch Damon Allen. Thats a lot of time to climb up the "All-Time" lists or knock off a few records. First up, hitting 50,000 career passing yards, which he should accomplish this season. The catch however, is that Ray has to stay healthy, something that gets harder to do the older one gets. Ray was actually extremely resilient during his time with the Edmonton Eskimos, only missing a significant amount of the season in one of his nine seasons in Green and Gold. Since coming to Toronto however, the two-time All-Star has missed 11 games, including seven last season with a shoulder injury. That is of heightened concern for the Argos as well, seeing as there is no guarantee the next Zach Collaros, now the likely starter in Hamilton, is currently on the roster. Rays health is vital to the Argonauts too because outside of tremendous quarterback play, there wasnt a lot going for the teams offence last year. Had they been able to share the Most Outstanding Player award last season, Ray and Collaros surely would have given winner Jon Cornish a scare, but even with that production from the quarterback position, the Argos finished with just an 11-7 record and the fourth ranked offence. The team will need more out of the run game, where 2012 Grey Cup MVP Chad Kackert led the way for a paltry eighth-ranked attack. Kackert somewhat surprisingly retired ahead of training camp and the team now needs to rely on their backup plan. If Ray is to succeed Calvillo as elder statesman of the CFL, and hell certainly be given first crack at the job; like the Alouettes were, the Argonauts will always be in contention. What could push them over the edge is an improved running game and somehow figuring out how to deal with the losses on defence to improve the eighth-ranked unit. Notes Assistant Coaches - The Argonauts suffered two big losses to their coaching staff over the off-season when defensive coordinator Chris Jones and special teams coordinator Mike OShea accepted head coaching gigs with the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers respectively. While its a compliment to head coach Scott Milanovichs staff to have his assistants coveted for head coaching vacancies, the shakeup could hurt the Argos in the short-term. Toronto did replace both Jones and OShea with former head coaches in Tim Burke and Jim Daley. Expansion Draft - Torontos biggest loss in the expansion draft was Joe Eppele, the veteran offensive lineman who proved versatile in his three years with the Double Blue. The Argos also lost veteran Canadian linebacker Jason Pottinger, a solid depth player and special teams contributor, and American defensive lineman Jonathan Williams, who was with the team just one year after arriving from BC. Free Agency - The Argos lost some key pieces in free agency in lockdown defensive back Patrick Watkins, who joined his former defensive coordinator Chris Jones in Edmonton, and promising quarterback Zach Collaros, who chose Torontos biggest rival, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Those losses will be tough to overcome for sure, but they werent entirely unexpected – especially in the case of Collaros – and the team landed some big names on the market as well. Former Montreal Alouettes linebacker and solid Canadian starter Shea Emry will join the Argos as their coup of free agency. CFL Draft - Its rare a running back goes as high as third overall, but the Toronto Argonauts, who traded up to land Manitoba product Anthony Coombs, think they drafted a potential ratio buster. With Chad Kackert retiring later in the off-season, the Coombs pick looks even better. Toronto also selected UBC DL Jaskaran Dhillon in the third round, Manitoba LB Thomas Miles and Montreal FB Alexandre Dupuis in the fourth round, St. Marys DB Eric Black and Windsor WR Evan Pszczonak in the fifth round, Simon Fraser WR Tore Corrado in the sixth round, and Acadia DL Kirby Fletcher in the seventh round. BMO Field - It seemed a foregone conclusion the Argonauts would move to BMO Field on Exhibition Grounds after their time at the Rogers Centre came to an end in 2017. That may not be the case however, as MLSE, who also appeared set to buy the Argonauts from David Braley – also the owner of the BC Lions – threatened to go ahead with upgrades to BMO Field that didnt include expansion for the Argos if the federal government didnt come through with some funding help. There is still time for this issue to be resolved, but for now, the Argos future location is somewhat in the air. Antonio Brown Black Jersey . Another is a bunch of groundballs. Finally, theres a game that lasts two hours six minutes. Pavano kept up his recent surge with an efficient six-hitter for the Twins in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night. Cam Thomas Black Jersey . The Basque club improved to four points better than fifth-place Villarreal in the duel for the last Champions League qualifying place. Celta should have come away with more from the high tempo game.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Dominik Hasek is not a goaltender anymore. He hasnt taken his customary place between the posts since his last game on Feb. 27, 2011 for Spartak Moscow of the KHL. He has thought and talked about playing since, but never followed through. "My equipment is still in the same bag," he said. Even when the 49-year-old plays with friends once or twice a week, Hasek plays as a defenceman. Forty years as a goalie was enough. And its unlikely the man nicknamed "The Dominator" can capture the kind of performances that made him one of the best goaltenders in his era, alongside Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. Hasek played his final NHL game five years ago, and then officially retired in 2012. Its taken time since he left the league for his true place in NHL history to come into focus. Six Vezina Trophies as the leagues best goaltender, two Hart Trophies as MVP, one Olympic gold medal, six first-team all-star selections and two Stanley Cups -- one as a starter -- dont even tell the whole story. Few goalies during the 1990s and 2000s could do what Hasek did to opponents. "He mentally and physically intimidated you," said St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, who beat Hasek in the 1999 Cup final with the Stars. "I think there were games that you knew you were never going to score on him, and I think it was very discouraging at times. I think thats a great quality. Id never seen the guy quit on a puck, Id never seen the guy give up on anything. And thats hard to play against." Haseks .922 save percentage is the best of any goalie since the league started keeping track in 1982-83. His 2.02 goals-against average is the best in the modern era, slightly lower than Ken Dryden and Brodeur. Brodeur has many more shutouts, but when Hasek was on his game, he had the ability to almost will teams to win. "He makes a team believe," ex-Sabres and current Stars coach Lindy Ruff said in a phone interview. "You just start believing that with him in goal you can win any given night." Ruff recalled times when Hasek was so locked in that "we really only had to score one. And if we got two, it was almost guaranteed-win night." Hasek, who is being inducted into the Sabres hall of fame Saturday night and will be the first NHL player to have the number 39 retired next season, wanted victories more than trophies or honours. "I want to be remembered as a competitor who gave the teams always (the chance) to win the game," Hasek said Friday at First Niagara Center. "As a great goalie, as the person or goalie who gave the team (a chance) to always win the game. Thats what was hockey for me. I enjoyed my time, I enjoyed when I played here and any time I step on the ice my goal is to win the game and try to help my teammates win the game." Hasek will forever trail Brodeur (three Cups with the New Jersey Devils) and Roy (four, two each with the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche), and one of his two in Detroit came as Chris Osgoods backup. But Hasek could potentially have won another title in 1999, had it not beeen for Brett Hulls controversial skate-in-the-crease overtime series winner in Game 6. Brice McCain Steelers Jersey. . A Cup there would have burnished Haseks legacy even more, but its not something that he laments 15 years later. "Its part of the life," he said. "Sometimes you win, sometimes you come close and you dont win it the whole way. It was an unfortunate night for us, it was something disappointing, but for me it wasnt end of my life." Far from it. In fact, Hasek teamed up with Hull to win the Cup in 2002 with the Red Wings, posting six shutouts along the way. "Winning a Stanley Cup anywhere, its hard," said Sabres coach Ted Nolan, who spoke with Hasek Friday for the first time since Nolan was fired in Buffalo in 1997. "Its hard and all the stars have to line up. They didnt quite line up here but he went and lined it up in Detroit pretty well." In 1999, Hasek had two shutouts and a playoff-best .939 save percentage in almost getting the Sabres their first championship in franchise history. Stars centre Joe Nieuwendyk won the Conn Smythe Trophy, but it easily couldve gone to Hasek even in a losing effort. "We were a huge underdog, obviously, going through the playoffs," Ruff said. "I thought that our team really fed off of Doms performance for the most part. He wouldve been able to take a team that wasnt supposed to get there and win it." Haseks dominant prime lasted six seasons, from 1993-94 through 1998-99, when he led the league in save percentage every single time and came away with five of his six career Vezinas. Asked about those years, Hasek smiled and brushed off the notion that it mightve been the best stretch any goalie has ever played. "I dont think about this that way," Hasek said. "I got a chance to prove, to become starting goalie and after that I had, I dont know, six, seven years, which we had great teams, we made it every year to the playoffs except one of nine years." Hasek proved much more than that, something that will more than likely be validated with induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame in November. "For me its a no-brainer," Ruff said. "I think he definitely stands as one of the best. He was on the cutting edge of the way a lot of goaltenders play. Always looking for a way to be better. He could take a team a long ways with the way he played." Hasek isnt carrying teams anymore, instead living back home in the Czech Republic and working "a little bit" in hockey and also in business. As much as hed appreciate it, making the Hall of Fame was never his goal, and thats not his focus even now. "There are new goals in life and always something new to prove. The hockey career is something what is behind me," Hasek said. "What great years, what fantastic things to do something what you enjoy, what you love to do, and be very well paid and be around the people who you love and spend great time with them. However its part of the life that every professional player has to retire some day, and you wake up and you enjoy your life different ways." cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '