The Montreal Canadiens are nothing if not dramatic. If any organization were to trade a player midgame, it would have to be this one. While the news of Michael Cammalleri's imminent trade spread throughout the Habs bench and amongst fans watching at home, most immediately jumped to the conclusion that this had to do with the comments made the day prior about his teammates' "losing attitude", and that Pierre Gauthier was a classless bum for trading our beloved Cammy between the second and third period of Thursday's game versus the Boston Bruins. *Insert sound of record player stopping abruptly* Get a grip, folks.
First off, Cammalleri's toxic personality hadn't only reared its ugly head with the comment he made on Wednesday. He has always been one to go to the coach and demand to play alongside whoever had the hot hand, and refuse to play alongside certain players that he felt didn't contribute to his personal growth, namely Lars Eller (it couldn't possibly be his own fault that he only had 9 goals in 38 , right?!)
When players behave this way, it trickles into the locker room. The guys knew what kind of person he was. It's no surprise that #13's departure didn't have the same effect on the boys that Spacek's departure did.
Secondly, if you truly believe the midgame trade is "classless", perhaps you should consider a few things first. The Habs acquisition in all of this, Rene Bourque, had 2 left to serve in a 5 game suspension. The Flames also had a game on Thursday night. In order to get Bourque into the Habs lineup as quickly as possible, they needed to make sure that he was on the lineup for the Calgary Flames for Thursday's game, so that it would count as one of the remaining 2 on his suspension, otherwise Bourque would not be able to play on Sunday versus the Rangers.
Also, if you think this was a "panic" trade that was made at the last minute, you're sorely mistaken. The deal had been in the works for at least 2 weeks. If anything, Cammalleri's comments in Wednesday's La Presse likely had more to do with the imminent trade than anything else (side note: did he really say anything all that shocking? The Habs are a 12th place team. They are losers, with a losing mentality. Otherwise they would be above the playoff cutoff line. But I digress.)
Now that all that is out of the way, hey look! The trade! The Habs give up 29 year-old Michael Cammalleri, who still has 2 years left in his contract at $6 million, 25 year-old goaltending prospect Karri Rämö, and a 5th round draft pick. The Flames give up 30 year-old Rene Bourque, who still has 4 years left in his contract at $3.33 million, 20 year-old prospect Patrick Holland, and a 2nd round draft pick. This is a good deal. The cap hit alleviation alone appeases me. The 2nd round draft pick REALLY excites me.
People really seem to underestimate the value of a high draft pick throughout the regular season. That is, until the draft arrives. Then they can't grasp why the Habs can't draft the French-Canadian version of Sidney Crosby. Also, the average draft pick WON'T play in the NHL immediately after being drafted. Fans, you need to have the patience to allow the player to develop into a decent hockey player before rushing him into the bleu, blanc, rouge (see Guillaume Latendresse).
Also exciting to me is giving up Ramo. This creates space within the system to potentially draft someone like Malcolm Subban (yes, that's PK's little brother, a goal tender who is draft eligible at the 2012 Entry Draft). For the record, I believe the Habs should have dibs on all the Subbans. I think Jordan would look pretty good with the CH on his chest as well.
This was a good trade. Bourque has a higher goal-per-game output than Cammy. He costs less. The Habs have an extra second round draft pick. It seems no one is capable of assessing whether or not this was a good deal without bringing in the way it was handled into the mix. Nothing but dramatic Habs fandom. Montreal, you seriously need to GET A GRIP. Pierre Gauthier does not sit at his desk plotting ways to run this team into the ground. He is trying, and perhaps it falls short, but this isn't a personal attack on you, Jean-Jacques from Laval, or you, Melissa from Longueil. Maybe, if nothing else, Bourque's French sounding name will confuse and temporarily appease the pure-laine protesters...
