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Of course, the fiery fierceness of Maas and cool-as-ice Ray complemented each other, personality-wise, but the two also made each better on the field to the benefit of their team. Never was it more apparent than on the way to winning the 2005 Grey Cup, when Maas came in not once, but twice earlier in the playoffs to spark the offence back to life before putting the reins back in Ray’s hands for the ride down victory lane.

“The hallmark for him, a lot of people will remember that demeanor about him, is that there was probably never a cooler quarterback in any situation,” Maas said. “It didn’t matter to him, he was just always the same guy and whether he was really feeling pressure or not, you never could tell.

“It’s something to marvel about, something to respect as a fellow quarterback and as a person that loves football and people that do it the right way.”

It goes without saying Ray has earned a spot on Maas’s own personal Mount Rushmore of quarterbacks.

“No question in my mind, he’s a legend in the sport in the CFL. I don’t think you can question that,” Maas said. “He started and won four Grey Cups, he’s the leader in our franchise in Edmonton (for career passing yards, pass attempts, completions and passing touchdowns), he’s the leader in Toronto’s franchise in passing (career yards, pass attempts, completions and passing touchdowns). That’s hard to do in two storied franchises in the CFL.

“And there’s certainly more accolades than that that you can press upon him. And all through that, you never had to worry about Ricky off the field. On the field, he was a leader, in the locker-room he was a leader in his own way and style. Generally, quarterbacks get judged by whether they can win the big ball games and I don’t think anyone would question putting Ricky back there with needing a drive to score a touchdown and win a Grey Cup. I think a lot of people would do that and he would come through more often than not.”