Mike Cammalleri has been traded by the Montreal Canadiens, and he's heading west to the Calgary Flames, according to TSN. NHL Network reports that Rene Bourque is part of the deal in the other direction, although it's unclear if there's more involved in the trade.
Mike Cammalleri Traded By Montreal Canadiens To Calgary Flames; Rene Bourque Headed To Habs
The now-former Canadiens was taken off the bench in the third period of the Habs game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden, and according to reports, he was sent back to the team hotel.
He wasn’t injured, and here’s the fishy part: the Canadiens weren’t due to head back to their hotel after the game. They’re heading right for the airport. It’s beyond strange, and teams almost never pull players from games in the NHL. Typically, you’d just wait until after the game to announce the deal and things would go on as usual.
The Canadiens couldn’t wait. Or, perhaps they were trying to send a message. Cammalleri was blatantly honest in his assessment of the team in a session with reporters on Wednesday, saying that “We prepare for our games like losers. We play like losers. So it’s no wonder why we lose.”
Of course, there’s the language element involved. Cammalleri doesn’t speak French, and he was conveying his thoughts in English. That quote came from French-language publication La Presse, while an English-language report from NHL.com indicated that he only insinuated that the team was “playing like losers.”
Regardless, it doesn’t matter. Many fans in Montreal have been unhappy with the way Cammalleri has played, and his calling out of his teammates was seen not as a rallying call for an underwhelming hockey club but whining and complaining when he should be putting his head down and working out of his struggles.
We don’t yet know the full package heading back to Montreal, but Cammalleri is headed back to the team for which he played the 2008-09 season. He came to Calgary in a draft day trade in 2008 and put up 82 points in 81 games for the Flames that following season, but left in free agency to sign with the Canadiens the following summer.
Bourque has put up 148 points in 211 games for the Flames over the last three seasons. Like Cammalleri, he does not speak French. For more on this developing story, stick with this Mike Cammalleri trade StoryStream.
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