Maas-tering the possibilities?

The wheels are apparently turning in Edmonton these days, calculating the prospects of re-uniting a fairly successful one two punch for the Green and Gold.
With Jason Maas spending his time now on the sidelines of Montreal instead of Hamilton, the word out of Edmonton is that there may be some interest in a reunion for Maas and Ricky Ray for next season.

With Maas due back in Edmonton this weekend as part of the Als roster, the Edmonton Sun’s Jonathon Huntington decided to try and squeeze some information out of the Eskimos front office regarding their interest in the former Eskimo back up. The Esks have been a struggling team when the third quarter kick off takes place, a spot back in the day when Maas would jump into the play and bring back the Esks from near despair.

As can be found in your local standings table, the Eskimos have not rebounded in the second half as well as in those years of success with Ricky and Jason’s great adventures. As the Esks continue to stumble their way through the regular season, thoughts of Maas coming off the bench seem to be an option that many an Eskimo fan would like to see in 2008.

In the Huntington article, the underlying tale of the recent Casey Printers signing in Hamilton is that Maas wanted to head back to Edmonton, where his wife and daughter still reside and some of his better days in the CFL were found. As things turned out, Maas went east instead of west, but it seems to be only a temporary residence according to the tales making their way through the CFL grapevine.

In a season where Esks fans are looking for any signs of hope, the prospect of a favourite son returning to Commonwealth may help take the sting out of what so far has been a very disappointing season.

The other cleat drops in Hamilton

With the ink barely dry on the Casey Printers contract, the Hamilton Tiger Cats were quick to move their former number one on down the highway.

The Cats made a trade with Montreal on Thursday, hoping to send Jason Maas on to Montreal in exchange for Canadian running back Jeff Piercy.

However, as Thursday evening turned into night word began to leak out that the deal was on hold as Maas apparently balked at the idea of heading east to Montreal.

Sportsnet posted a story on their website, that the proposed trade has not officially gone through and that it temporarily has been suspended, which is something that could face Maas should he continue to refuse to report to Montreal.

Maas it was hoped would take over for Anthony Calvillo who is nursing a sore back and has not practiced all week for the Als, with Sportsnet reporting that sources in Montreal suggest that Calvillo may be out for a number of games.

No reason was given for Maas' refusal to report, and it poses some interesting questions such as why he would not want to suit up with a team that has a much better chance of heading to the Grey Cup than his former employers do.

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On the other side of the trade, what in the world are the Cats going to do with Piercy? With Jesse Lumsden looking like the premiere back in yellow and black, picking up another body for the backfield seems like a strange acquisition if it ever comes to pass.

The interesting thing to watch as Friday dawns besides whether Maas overcomes his reservations about Montreal, will be how much further the CFL Quarterback landscape may change before the Grey Cup is handed out in late November.

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Update: The Canadian Press is reporting that Maas has now decided to report to Montreal, having caught an early morning flight Friday morning to join his new team.