Michael Cammalleri had the distinctive honor of being traded during an NHL game this season, as the Montreal Canadiens pulled him off the ice vs. the Boston Bruins and sent him back to the Calgary Flames in January.
It was a bittersweet moment for the forward, who had grown frustrated with the Habs organization but was in his third season with Montreal, having been a playoff hero two postseasons ago.
A sentimental guy, Cammalleri wanted to keep his Canadiens jersey as a memento.
According to Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette, recently removed Habs GM Pierre Gauthier granted the request … as long as the team received proper compensation from Cammalleri for it.
A stunned Cammalleri asked if he could keep his game jersey as a souvenir of the good times in Montreal. No problem, said Gauthier, as long as he was willing to pay for it.
When Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald asked Cammalleri about the incident this week, the sniper replied: "I can neither confirm nor deny it." If Cammalleri had confirmed it, he would have revealed that the asking price was $1,250.
The Canadiens used to have a deal with Mei-Gray, a U.S. company that sells game-worn jerseys, but the team now handle sales through the Canadiens boutique and online. If Cammalleri still wants the jersey, it's available for $600.
Look, we're not sure what the protocol is for every NHL team when it comes to traded players and/or keepsakes. But the fact is that this deal happened after Cammalleri made noise about the team's "losing mentality", which obviously didn't sit well with management.
So this episode just comes off as petty, even by Gauthier's "firing on a game day" standards.