UFA Poll: Should the Flames re-sign Mike Cammalleri

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Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

I'm just going to throw a hypothetical out there for the sake of discussion:

Does having Squid on the roster assist in signing quality free agents or acquiring players through trade? Without him, Treliving will call up a player's agent and be like, "well, uh, your client will get to play alongside, um, Jiri Hudler..."

Cammy seems to be well liked around the league, so maybe he's an asset beyond the sheet of ice?

Considering he isn't a first line level talent at this point hard to imagine guys ignoring the fact this is a bottom 5 team to come play with Cammalieri. Certainly not the kind of guys that we likely would want to target.

Guys are still going to look to money, winning and location first and then most other teams would likely have better situations to guys than getting to play with Cammy.

[Poe969]

I just don't think he's a good fit any more. Sure he might be a good guy it great in the room but the game is played on the ice. The team needs to move forward...

[btimbit]

I'd love to have him back, don't care about the $$ much, but not for the term he'd be looking for.

Pass.

[EVERLAST]

I said yes but wonder if he really truly wants to remain here.

Id like to believe he does and think he and Hudler add allot to mentoring this young Flames team.

[ricardodw]

Couple of points:

1) Cammalleri is capable of blowing a young team up. Montreal felt that they had to get him out of their locker room....After he was a legitimate playoff hero.

2) It appears that he is NOT considered a top line talent around the league. As Darryl Sutter says anyone making to the final 16 has a chance to win the cup.

NONE of the top 18-20 teams thought Cammalleri was enough of a difference maker to make a reasonable trade at the 2014 trading deadline.



After the trade deadline slap in the face he played 19 games got 12 goals 23 points and was +11.

The rest of his time in Calgary over 3 seasons he played in 116 games 38 goals and 73 pts (.62 ppg) and was -43.

Over half of these games he was on a team with Kipper, Iginla and Bouwmeester, a team that was spending right up to the cap.

Looking at those numbers is looking at someone who was collecting his 6M /year under false pretenses.

There seems that there would be a huge risk that his last 19 games are the aberration where he was extremely motivated and will revert back to his previous 158 (counting his last 38 before Montreal ran him out of town) once his contract is signed.

I don't think any team will give him more than a 1 year deal and at most 2.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

Couple of points:
NONE of the top 18-20 teams thought Cammalleri was enough of a difference maker to make a reasonable trade at the 2014 trading deadline.

[MoreDrank]

I disagree on your first point.

Originally Posted by ricardodw

1) Cammalleri is capable of blowing a young team up. Montreal felt that they had to get him out of their locker room....After he was a legitimate playoff hero.

Cammalleri got shipped out of Montreal because he kicked the sacred cow of the Canadiens' sense of historical superiority when he called out the way the team approached their practice and execution like "losers." It was during a very bad stretch for the Habs. The fans and media called for all sorts of heads to roll and it was his comments that made him a target. Pierre Gauthier, the Habs GM that made the move, also got served up at the end of the season. Had nothing to do with Cammalleri being toxic in the dressing room and everything to do with a GM that was trying to save his job amid the fanaticism of the Habs fan base.

[theoforever]

Originally Posted by MoreDrank

I disagree on your first point.



Cammalleri got shipped out of Montreal because he kicked the sacred cow of the Canadiens' sense of historical superiority when he called out the way the team approached their practice and execution like "losers." It was during a very bad stretch for the Habs. The fans and media called for all sorts of heads to roll and it was his comments that made him a target. Pierre Gauthier, the Habs GM that made the move, also got served up at the end of the season. Had nothing to do with Cammalleri being a toxic in the dressing room and everything to do with a GM that was trying to save his job amid the fanaticism of the Habs fan base.

That's exactly how it played out.

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by theoforever

That's exactly how it played out.

Maybe the Flame centric version of it... but after Cammalleri went outside the locker room with his comments and before he got traded here are some quotes from the Montreal bloggers: ( bolded parts are put there by me for emphasis)

From JT at The H Does NOT Stand for Habs:

If Cammalleri is seriously unhappy and showing few signs of breaking out of a season-long slump, it might be best for the team to move him if possible, just to release a player who never fit well into Jacques Martin's system, heavy on defensive responsibility. It would also signal the rebuild and give Cammalleri a chance to succeed elsewhere. If the team plans to start again with youth, it doesn't need an unhappy, underperforming veteran influencing the young players. Moving him could free up quite a bit of cap space as a bonus.
If Cammalleri isn't really done with Montreal and his words came from frustration, well, he might still have to go. The team that's stuck with the Gomez contract can't keep another one like it. Cammalleri, if he doesn't come up with a major turnaround soon, is at risk of becoming another albatross. He wants more ice time to prove himself. Cunneyworth and he need to sit down and discuss the issue, and the coach should probably take a flyer on giving the player more ice, with the caveat that if his interest level and own-zone play don't pick up...a lot...then he loses that privilege in favour of players who work harder.

From Ted Bird at Montreal Hockey Talk:

As Gazette hockey writer Dave Stubbs rightly points out, if those comments came from Carey Price or Erik Cole, fans and media alike would embrace the player's passion. Whether or not he deserves it, Cammalleri has a cultivated a reputation as a diva and a whiner. Combine that with being paid six million dollars for 9 goals and 22 points in 37 games, and no amount of brutal honesty is going to generate a sympathetic response.
It's another ugly chapter in an ugly season, and it further hamstrings the Canadiens as potential sellers at the trade deadline, when not a lot of teams will be clamoring for an overpaid underachiever with an attitude.

Dennis Kane writes:

If Cammalleri isn't happy and would prefer to move on, that's fine. Maybe the dressing room would be a happier place. And maybe the guy replacing him would put up better numbers.

Mike Gomez at The Hockey House:

You can take what you want from all of this. Cammalleri could very well be out of the Hab's uniform soon and it might be in Montreal's best interest to do just that. Not everything that Michael Cammalleri said was entirely wrong, but if he feels that they are playing like losers out there, he probably should have said that he was going to take initiative and step up.
It's one thing to complain about what is happening, it's another to recognize it and do something about it. Cammalleri also said that he was not disappointed when he heard the boos but that he more so probably expected it. Well, in my opinion, if you expected it then you know you are not performing to Montreal's standards. Wake up and make a positive impact out there Cammy, all eyes are on you.

Cammalleri's moving out of Montreal along with his ho-hum near-Stempniak like play in Calgary for 3 years will not have gone un-noticed by the rest of the NHL.

His good performances in Flames 19 exhibition games that were better lost for a higher draft pick are a lot like Edmonton's meaningless good play at the end of past seasons that give hope for a better next season and disappoint.

[The Fonz]

Big no.

He's small, soft, old, and too expensive for what he brings to the table.

We were too small this past season, and we've got smaller top prospects in Gaudreau, Baertschi, and Granlund. All things considered, re-signing Cammalleri would be a horrible move.

[trublmaker]

voted no, don't care what he would make or for how long or his size, just don't think he wants to be here any longer ergo buh bye then.

[ricardodw]

So when great locker room guy, veteran leadership Lee Stempniak got traded from the Flames for a miracle 3rd round pick:

Stempniak 52 games 8 goals 23 pts -21
Cammalleri 44 games 14 goals 22 pts -24

Are we going to have a poll if the Flames should resign Stempniak??

[ForeverFlameFan]

I didn't vote on this one... I said yes for being a good fit in the locker room. But we "should" sign him, still doesn't mean we will. He wants a little too much than what we are offering. And I am sure a team like the Ducks/Avs/Isles could use him.

[Parallex]

If we could get him on a short-term deal I'd be happy to have him back, but we won't get him on a short-term deal so... sadly... no.

[flambers]

I would think the dollars are close to what the Flames would pay, its all about the term.

If the agent is pushing hard for a long term deal (i.e. 5 years)

The Flames should let him go.

[theoforever]

@ ricardodw

I'm not trying to prop Cammy or what he is, don't care, so the Flames centric doesn't apply.
Lots of people were mad at him for saying what he did outside the dressing room. I believe he should not have done it.
At that time Habs were terribly managed and coached.

Character assassination started right after he made those statement.
I remember seeing a lot of Hab fans supporting what was said, of course others were taking him apart for it.
I also remember some of the national TV media saying what Cammy said was true and they also said the guy cares and is all heart.

I disagree with your opinion that Cammy would be detrimental to development of our young players.

He is small and not effective unless producing points, would not want to lock him to a long term contract, but 2/3 years would be ok.
If he goes that's fine but Flames will be weaker without him.

[bubbsy]

in a cap era, and on a team situated like the flames, where short term cap hit is needed (in addition to other player qualities) while the team is on a youth/rebuild movement, curious why we don't see short term very high $ figure deals.

As an example, i'd guess cammalleri is looking for something like a $5mill for 5 year deal, which is just too long for the flames. Why not offer him $7-$8 for 2 years (high $ over very short term)?

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

in a cap era, and on a team situated like the flames, where short term cap hit is needed (in addition to other player qualities) while the team is on a youth/rebuild movement, curious why we don't see short term very high $ figure deals.

As an example, i'd guess cammalleri is looking for something like a $5mill for 5 year deal, which is just too long for the flames. Why not offer him $7-$8 for 2 years (high $ over very short term)?

Cammy wants term. We'd give him a bunch of money if he was willing to do a 2, 3 year deal, but he wants a 4-5 I think.

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

Cammy wants term. We'd give him a bunch of money if he was willing to do a 2, 3 year deal, but he wants a 4-5 I think.

that's the question i'm asking. realize he wants term (let's say 5 years), is there a way to avoid that. as an extreme example, what if the flames offered him 9 million a year for 2 years (not saying the flames should, just a question of whether this has occurred yet in the cap era).

[DJones]

Why would we pay him 9 million? We could get any free agent we wanted for that kind of money?

I like him and I've never even heard rumblings that he was causing problems. Didn't Monahan specifically name him as one of the veterans that made him feel welcome?

3 years, 4 million a year I'd be happy with.