The Calgary Flames added a winger and subtracted one during the first round of the NHL 2008 Entry Draft, acquiring winger Mike Cammalleri from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 17th overall pick, and dealing veteran left winger Alex Tanguay to the Montreal Canadiens for the 25th overall pick.
Cammelleri was rumored as a trade candidate during the past week and for good reason given his contentious contract talks last summer with Kings GM Dean Lombardi resulting in a two-year contract through arbitration for less than he sought.
His current contract worth $3.35 million has one year left, giving the Flames time to determine if they want to re-sign him this summer for more, or see how well he plays for demanding head coach Mike Keenan and make a pitch during next season.
Cammalleri has 80 point potential, having achieved that total in 2006-07 but fell off to only 47 points last season. With the Kings have plenty of depth in young scoring forwards he became expendable, in this case for a 17th overall pick which was then flipped to the Anaheim Ducks along with the 28th overall pick for the 12th overall pick.
The Flames however had to make salary room for Cammalleri and that meant moving out Alex Tanguay, who surprisingly agreed to waive his "no-trade" to facilitate a trade to the Montreal Canadiens for the 25th overall pick in this year's draft.
Surprisingly, because Tanguay last season repeatedly stated he wouldn't waive his clause to go to Montreal , citing the intense pressure French-Canadien players feel playing for the Canadiens.
Evidently the pressure of playing for Mike Keenan another season in Calgary was enough to change his mind. By dumping Tanguay to Montreal and taking on Cammalleri's salary Flames GM Darryl Sutter saves himself nearly $2 million in cap space which could be used to re-sign a key player or perhaps pursue some depth via the UFA market.
Canadiens GM Bob Gainey has repeatedly stated he wants to acquire an impact player and hinted of dealing his first round pick (25th) in this year's draft to do so.
Tanguay is a skilled offensive winger whose offensive stats have fluctuated throughout his career. He should post up strong offensive numbers with the speedy young talented Canadiens, but he's not considered an impact player.
It's a bit of a puzzling move for Gainey, adding another finesse player into a roster already loaded with those kind of forwards, not to mention the huge cap bite his $5.25 million salary for next season will take out of the Habs' salary cap.
Either Gainey is still shopping for that elusive impact forward (he's been granted permission by the Toronto Maple Leafs to speak with Mats Sundin's agent) or Tanguay is the best he could get.