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Underneath Randy Carlyle’s gruff exterior lies a heart of gold

Randy Carlyle Carter Ashton

You can accuse Randy Carlyle of being grumpy, crotchety, irritable or even surly -- just don’t call him miserly.

The Toronto Maple Leafs head coach is almost generous to a fault.

For further evidence to this claim, check out Terry Koshan’s piece in the Toronto Sun about the Leafs finding a backup for Jonas Gustavsson after James Reimer was lost to an upper-body injury:

Jussi Rynnas was to back-up Gustavsson Thursday. Rynnas had been sent down to the Marlies on Wednesday, with Ben Scrivens recalled. But Scrivens was sent back to the Marlies after practising on Wednesday with the Leafs.

“(Scrivens) is clearly the No. 1 guy down there and the player deserved an opportunity to earn NHL dollars for a day (approximately $2,800 US) as a reward,” Carlyle said. “For his development and the long-term status of the organization, we feel it is important for the Marlies to have as much a chance for success and that is why he came up yesterday and practised with us, got paid NHL dollars and is now back with the Marlies for their weekend.”

To be fair, this might not all be Carlyle’s idea. Ever since Brian Burke extended Ron Wilson’s contract, Toronto’s really been pushing the “reward employees regardless of what they do at the NHL level” program.