TORONTO - It was a gamble and Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis knew it. "If we werent able to get Bozak signed or if Clarkson didnt sign then I wouldve had a lot of cap space with no players," Nonis told the Leaf Report. "So it was definitely a gamble and we weighed that against keeping him and playing him." Ultimately, Nonis and his management team opted to exercise their second compliance buyout on Mikhail Grabovski this past summer, ridding themselves of the enigmatic centreman after five years in Toronto. After much debate, they determined that the cap space freed up by his dismissal was just too enticing to pass up; that the players fit on the roster just wasnt there. The 29-year-old, who returns to the Air Canada Centre as a member of the Washington Capitals on Saturday evening, still had four years remaining on a contract that ate up $5.5 million in cap space annually. "It wasnt a decision we made just overnight," Nonis said. "We thought long and hard about it and decided to roll the dice with the cap space and see if we could relocate it effectively." These were nervous times for Nonis. Though he had just acquired 27-year-old Dave Bolland from the Chicago Blackhawks, he had no guarantees that Tyler Bozak would re-sign in Toronto nor whether David Clarkson, their top free agent target, would take their bait and become a Leaf. "We didnt know when we did it that wed be successful in getting some players signed," Nonis said. Also due to be signed were restricted free agents Jonathan Bernier, Carl Gunnarsson, Nazem Kadri, Mark Fraser and Cody Franson. Cap space, predictably, (with the upper-limit dropping to $64.3 million) was going to be at a premium. "We looked at a number of scenarios, including keeping him," Nonis said of Grabovski, who signed for one year in Washington at $3 million. "I said at the time, I think Grabo, wherever he ends up, was going to have a positive impact. Hes a good player and I believe that. But for us we felt we needed to regain that cap space to make some other moves moving forward." A major part of the equation was also the players fit within the roster. Never coming to grips with the role he was required to play in Toronto last season, Grabovski endured the worst season of his career in 2013. He finished with nine goals and 16 points in 48 games, completely off-kilter in the defensive role head coach Randy Carlyle had pegged him to fill. Afforded similar minutes under Adam Oates in Washington, albeit with a more offensive lean, Grabovski has already produced seven goals and 19 points this season. "Again, the notion that there wasnt ice-time available for him or opportunity last year, thats just false," Nonis said of Grabovski, who averaged nearly 16 minutes last season, his lowest as a Leaf. "I think it was more a situation where the fit just wasnt right. And it wasnt his fault. I dont think he ever shortchanged us on effort or being prepared or professionalism or any of those things. There just didnt seem to be a fit. And so to have that much cap space tied up with a player that wasnt fitting with us - it doesnt mean hes not going to fit with other teams, obviously he is - but thats what led to the decision to buy him out." Grabovski made no secret of his disdain for Carlyle and the role he was dealt in his final season as a Leaf. He believed his value came from producing offence - he scored 20 goals three times - and could not comprehend why that opportunity wasnt being afforded him as it had been previously under Ron Wilson. "I think too much is made about the coach being the issue with Grabo," Nonis said. "Look at Grabos ice-time and look at his opportunity and look at his performance and I think Grabo would tell you that he didnt have a great year. Whether it was just because he didnt feel like he was being used correctly or what it might be, but I think its easy to point the finger at the coach and say well its his fault. I dont think thats fair. Theres a lot of things that went into his season last year and I think just saying it was all the coach is unfair." The teams dynamic at centre ice almost dictated the terms for Carlyle. With Kadri making the team out of training camp when the lockout wrapped last January and Bozak already lined up as the teams top centre - the better fit for Phil Kessel in the teams opinion - there was nowhere else to put Grabovski but in the checking role he was assigned. Add Bolland into the mix from Chicago this summer - an ideal candidate to fill the role Grabovski griped under - and the stage was set for change in early July. Nonis, admittedly, could have waited until the summer of 2014 to exercise the buyout - the final year to do so under terms of the new CBA - but risked another poor season in doing so. "From a managers point we looked at it and said Is this the best thing to do for us to rehabilitate him, so to speak, and get him back to playing where we needed him to play or to buy him out and create the cap space. "That was the decision." Richard Hamilton Jersey . Or, for that matter, the aged. Bailey Howell Jersey . Griffin scored 13 of his 31 points in the final 7:05 and Dudley got 11 of his 20 points in the third quarter, leading the defending Pacific Division champions to a 112-85 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. "Dud is a shooter. https://www.cheappistonsonline.com/1136y...ey-pistons.html. The 10-year deal the league and players agreed to that ended the 2011 lockout gave either side the right to opt out after six years. With the league projecting financial growth, there has been speculation that players will take that option in three years, especially since a new national TV contract will be in place by then. Joe Smith Jersey . -- Jack Del Rio only wanted to talk about the Cowboys, not the Trojans. Jerry Stackhouse Jersey ." The tournament was set to be held Sept. 15-21 and would have been the first ATP tournament held in Israel since 1996. But amid Israels military campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, ATP President Chris Kermode said "we do not feel we can proceed as planned given the situation in the region.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kevin Love and Shawn Marion expect to play against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night — welcome news for a Cleveland Cavaliers team without LeBron James for the next two weeks because of knee and back strains.Love said at Friday mornings shootaround that the back spasms that kept him out of Clevelands last game have subsided and hes going to give it a go. Marion missed the last two games with a sprained ankle.Love hopes to use James absence as a chance to expand his role. The Cavs are 18-14 and have lost three straight.You have to look at this as a glass half full, he said. I know that our best player is out, our leader is out, but its an opportunity for other players to step up, myself included.James did not travel to Charlotte. The team said Thursday the four-time MVP will be treated with anti-inflammatories, rehabilitation, training room treatments and rest.James could miss 10 games if hes out the full two weeks, which would be the longest stretch of his career. The 11-year pro has never missed more than five straight games during his career.Cavaliers coach David Blatt said Friday that James hasnt felt 100 per cent for some time.Hes been toughing it out and hes been giving us everything he has despite some discomfort — not overwhelming discomfort, but discomfort,, Blatt said.ddddddddddddIt was exacerbated during the Miami game (on Christmas), he added. And from that that point forward we looked at this in a different way and decided together with him the best thing was to try to attack this problem straight on and allow him to heal completely, even at the expense of him being down for more than a few days and get him back to where he feels 100 per cent and go from there.Blatt isnt sure when James will resume travel with the team, saying it will depend on his rehab. Point guard Kyrie Irving said he others must hold the fort down.We have to pick up the work that is not out there right now and it goes back to everyone being ready to play, Irving said.Irving expects to have the ball in his hands more with James not on the court.When you have LeBron out there you can conserve a lot more energy because when hes playing point guard, as being off the ball you see things a little differently, Irving said. You kind of get on the second side pick-and-roll and defences arent loading up on you as much. For me now, I just have to pick my spots on when to attack and when to get other guys involved.The Cavaliers face a Hornets team also without its best player. Center Al Jefferson has an injured groin and will be sidelined at least four weeks. ' ' '