Cammalleri/Bourque Trade Analysis

Last night general manager Pierre Gauthier pulled the trigger on a trade many Habs fan were understandably not happy about. Gauthier shipped off playoff hero Mike Cammalleri along with goalie Karri Ramo, now playing in the KHL, and a 5th round pick to the Calgary Flames for forward Rene Bourque, prospect Patrick Holland, now playing for Tri-City in the WHL and a 2nd round pick.

Some recent comments made by Cammalleri about the team's "losing mentality" seemed to help the trade process along that ended up with Cammy being sent back to his old home, where he scored 39 goals and 82 points only a few years back.

Let's break down the trade. There are five different criteria in which the trade should be looked at. Number one: skill. Number two: statistics. Number three: age/size. Number four: salary. Number 5: the draft picks and young guns exchanged.

When looking at the trade it is obvious that Cammalleri  is the most skilled played involved in the deal, hands down. Result: Advantage Calgary, Calgary 1, Montreal 0.

When you add up the numbers, over the past 3 season, Bourque has more goals than Cammalleri. Bourque has had 2 straight 27 goal seasons while Cammelleri has been on a decline since his point-per-game season in 08-09. Result: Tie, score remains Calgary 1, Montreal 0.

At 29 years old Cammalleri is only a couple months younger than Bourque who is 30. Therefore the ages in this trade do not really matter. However, Bourque is 6'2 and roughly 210lbs while Cammalleri is 5'9 185lbs. The Habs have added much needed size up front. Result: Advantage Montreal, Calgary 1, Montreal 1.

Next up is the salaries. Cammalleri has an average cap hit of 6 million dollars per year, that's a hefty price for a 9 goal scorer. On the other hand Bourque is making an affordable 3.33 million per year. If the Habs could find a way to get rid of Gomez, they would have some serious coin to go out and look for a superstar free agent that they covet (Zach Parise, Ryan Suter) or make a trade for a superstar (Rick Nash, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan). Results: Advantage Montreal, Montreal 2, Calgary 1.

Last but not least the picks and prospects that were added to this trade. Ramo, a goalie originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning is now playing in the KHL and seems to be enjoying it as he is one of the better goaltenders in Europe. With Price between the pipes for the Habs, Ramo would not have been needed anytime soon. And while Calgary has Kipper, he is getting old and they could be looking to replace him soon. In Patrick Holland, the Habs got a 7th rounder who is now playing for the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. He has 57 points in 40 games and is 3rd on his team, and 9th in the league in scoring. Not too bad for a 7th round pick. Finally, the draft picks. Calgary received a 5th rounder from Montreal. While that seems pretty useless, remember that Brendan Gallagher was a 5th round pick, plus Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg both fell past that round. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe the Flames will get a player who compares to any of those three guys but there is always a possibility that they do. The Canadiens received a 2nd rounder which could prove pretty useful. PK Subban was a 2nd round pick.

Results: Advantage Montreal, Montreal 3, Calgary 1 (1 tie)

One could make the argument that this was a pretty even trade, if not better for the Calgary Flames. However, the above reasons are why I love this deal for the Canadiens. Bourque brings in some size and toughness to a small group of forwards. And if you add in the fact that Cammalleri hasn't been the best teammate as of late, I think that a change of scenery would benefit both of these players.. Let me know what YOU guys have to say about the deal. Leave us some comments in the below section.

CHeers

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