The Six Million Dollar Man

Time and time again National Hockey League fans shake their head in disbelief about some of the absurd contracts that general managers hand out around the NHL.

But there is one players’ contract that was handed out this past off-season which has been worth every last dollar.

When July 1st came rolling around last season, Michael Cammalleri knew the one place he truly wanted to play over any other. There were suitors abound for this diminutive sniper, but really there was only one location for him.

Thankfully his desired destination was one that feelings were reciprocated. When then General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens, Bob Gainey, placed a call into Cammalleri’s camp, at some point on this day, a match made in free agent hockey heaven was consummated. Of course no matter how much a player wants to play for a team, money would still be a determining factor on whether he would officially sign his name on the dotted line and join the most storied franchise in National Hockey League history.

$30 million dollars later…welcome to Montreal, Cammi!

There was a fair amount of criticism thrown towards Gainey and the entire Habs organization’s way for lavishing such a contract on a player who had averaged only a point per game once in his career. Granted, it has been a career that had only spanned four seasons leading into the 2009-10 season, but nonetheless this was a lot of money to hand out to a player with still lots to prove in the eyes of many.

This was just one of the many moves that were made by the 24-time winning Stanley Cup franchise last summer, that had many wondering what was going on. Signing the likes of Hal Gill, Travis Moen, Jaroslav Spacek, Brian Gionta and trading for the grossly overpaid Scott Gomez, on top of signing the Richmond Hill, ON native, Gainey was criticized from every angle you could think of.

Fast forward to the mid-point of the season, Gainey steps down amidst the stress and strain of a mediocre season amongst other issues to be sure, allowing Pierre Gauthier to step in and deal with the alleged mess the former G.M. made of this team.

During the regular season, number thirteen appeared in 65 games for Montreal, missing 17 due to injuries.  In those 65 games, the 185 lb forward registered 50 points with 26 of those points earned by way of burying the puck into the back of the net.

However, as they struggled to barely qualify for the playoffs, many pundits and so-called experts gave Montreal a snowball’s chance in hell to accomplish anything significant come playoff time.

And after the first four games of these playoffs for Montreal, those many were looking rather intelligent with the mighty Washington Capitals holding a commanding 3-1 series lead and going home to dust off the eighth seeded Canadiens…or so they thought.

The brilliance of Jaroslav Halak was the main story against the Caps, as he evoked memories of former Canadien legendary goalies such as Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden. Montreal shocked the hockey world and defeated the President’s Trophy winners, becoming the first eighth seed to come back from a 3-1 series deficit.

Onto the next round, for an even more daunting task, none other than the defending Stanley Cup champs, the Pittsburgh Penguins. As Pittsburgh took a 1-0 series lead, on the strength of their power play, Cinderella’s glass slipper seemed to be shattering under their feet.

Enter Montreal’s Magical Midget!

Despite Montreal’s off-season acquisition, Gomez, having a poor playoffs and Tomas Plekanec playing more of a shut down roll during this semi-finals series for his Habs, one man has risen to the occasion.

Cammalleri, all five feet and nine inches of him scored two huge goals in Game 2, propelling Montreal to even the series at 1-1, heading home to the loudest building in the National Hockey League, the Bell Centre.

His clutch goal scoring has always taken a backseat to Halak’s stellar netminding in the postseason, but not anymore. Especially not thirteen games and eleven goals later.

There are plenty of heroes on this team, everyone is doing their part which has given the Canadiens a chance to shock the world two times over. Taking nothing away from Hal Gill and Josh Georges’ shutdown abilities, as well as the dogged persistence from each and every player on this team.

But let’s not kid ourselves here, without Halak’s superior goaltending and the clutch goal scoring of Cammalleri, none of the little things would be as significant as they currently are. Cammalleri is leading the entire National Hockey League in goals scored, with 11 in only 13 games played.

A far cry from a subpar regular season, in which he tallied only 26 goals, albeit in just 65 games played. He missed 17 games due to an MCL tear, which makes his playoff performance even more astounding than it already is. But as was the story for most of this team, these Canadiens have taken it to another level this spring.

It has been a steady progression into hockey’s hotbed for the 28-year old Cammalleri. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings organization, selected in the second round(49th overall). He remained in college after he was drafted, staying to play for Red Berenson and the Michigan Wolverines for one more season before he made his journey into the NHL.

From there, he joined the Kings organization and despite being bounced around his first few seasons, few questioned that he had what it took to become a solid NHL’er. One question remained was his lack of size. Pre-lockout hockey was a big man’s game, very few so-called little guys were flourishing, despite the amount of talent that resided inside of these small frames.

The lockout, although might have been hell on the average hockey fan, was a blessing in disguise for many players who hadn’t been given a fair shake, reasons may vary.

The 2004-05 season, where not a single National Hockey League game was played, gave players who were still trying to find a permanent spot on NHL rosters, assuming there were to be games played in this league again sometime down the line, was a bigger gift than most could ever imagine.

It was then that Cammalleri opened the eyes of everyone within the Kings organization, putting up tremendous numbers for the Manchester Monarchs. In 79 games he scored 46 goals and tallied 63 assists for a superb total of 109 points. All that was left for him now was for the lock to be picked on this NHL lockout and the league to resume play. As we all know now, that is exactly what happened in the summer of 2005 and a slew of new rules came with it, allowing small players with skill had a little more ice to work with.

In the 2005-06 season, Cammalleri gained a permanent spot with a young Kings club. He posted a respectable 50 points in 80 games played but there were better days ahead and those days didn’t take long to appear.

The following season saw a thirty point increase from the prior season, as he scored 34 goals and notched 46 assists in 81 games played. His fearless, score at any price quality, along with a heavy shot and sneaky fast release made him a player to be reckoned with.

Next season saw a steep decline though, as that fearless nature cost his body 19 games played. His output significantly slipped with his injury-plagued season, naturally, seeing him tally only 19 goals and 46 total points. With a struggling Kings team looking to shake things up, Cammalleri was seen as a key trading chip. The Calgary Flames, desperate for scoring were willing to part with a first round draft pick in order to obtain the services of this scoring dynamo.

He didn’t let them down, not one single bit. Cammalleri, playing alongside premiere power forward Jarome Iginla, had his best regular season to date. With 82 points, 39 of them being goals, he seemed to be hitting his stride. Although he did struggle in their first round ouster against the Blackhawks, Cammalleri knew that he would be a hot commodity during the summer, as he was about to hit the open market in hopes to cash in on this solid season.

As previously mentioned, he did more than cash in this summer, averaging six million dollars per season.

No greater stage in the league more than Montreal. Some say Toronto is hockey’s hotbed, but nothing significant has been going on, on the ice, in Toronto in quite sometime. That big stage is something Cammalleri not only wanted, but has embraced as well. The challenge of performing for intelligent and critical hockey fans, such as the ones that cheer on for their bleu, blanc y rouge is not something every player can handle.

This, amongst other reasons, is what makes Cammalleri a special player. It’s one thing to perform without pressure but it’s a whole different kind of animal to do this in Montreal…in the playoffs…against two superior teams.

Montreal has a chance, tonight, to slay another dragon as they play in yet another Game 7. Tonight, they have a chance to end the repeat hopes of Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It’s a tall task to ask of one team to beat two powerhouses in one month’s time. Leave it up to Montreals mightiest mite to lead the way!