Burke’s smoke and mirror show fails to drive up Cammalleri’s price

Talk of a contract extension for Michael Cammalleri is nothing more than
a marketing play by Calgary Flames president of hockey operations and
until-further-notice general manager Brian Burke.

Burke is trying to jack up the price by suggesting the diminutive winger
has enough of an edge and other leadership qualities to go with his
skill to be the kind of player he’d keep around despite his
well-publicized preference for more meat in his lineup.

Contrary to popular belief, there are some legitimate reasons as to why
the Flames would look at bringing Cammalleri back: Fulfilling the
obligation of the salary cap floor; keeping enough veterans around to
help guide the young up-and-comers for the next couple of years of the
team’s rebuilding process; the hope he can rediscover his scoring touch
in meaningful games should they somehow reach the playoffs — or even
challenge for the playoffs down the stretch — before his new contract
expires.

But for every reason in favour of the Flames trying to hang on to the
31-year-old winger, there are two or more that Cammalleri can list as to
why he would be better off escaping the rebuild and heading to greener
pastures.

Greener as in more money in the long term, and playoffs in the short term.

With his contract expiring this summer, Cammalleri is at the point of
his NHL life we’ll dub Last Call. As an unrestricted free agent on the
downward crest of his career, his value will never again be higher on
the open market.  Instead of a two or three year deal that might be
sitting on the table from the Flames, he’ll get at least four or five
years from some other team desperate to fill a spot with a player who
has scored nearly 40 goals in a season — even if that season was five
years ago.

More importantly, he gets to pick which of the over-bidders he wants to join in July.

Many of those same teams that want his services in the summer will be the ones bidding for him now.

Teams looking for an edge on the competition. Established playoff teams
that remember how impressive Cammalleri was with the Montreal Canadiens
in the 2010 post-season when he scored 13 times and racked up 19 points
in 19 games to lead the underdog eighth seed in the Eastern Conference
past the top-ranked Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins
before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference final.

His limited no-trade clause is irrelevant at this point. It’s unlikely
the seven teams he listed that he can not be traded to likely don’t want
him anyway. Wherever he goes, his chances of being in the playoffs for
the first time since 2011 skyrocket. He’ll be playing with more skilled
and experience players, which means his opportunity to increase his
value for the offseason jumps up as well.

The value to Cammalleri to be free of the Flames is obvious. But his
value on the trade market has taken a hit this season, for more than
just the idea of him being an extremely short-term rental.

The concussion scared some teams away. It wasn’t Cammalleri’s first head
injury, and for him to play with the kind of grit playoff teams expect,
he opens himself up to more.

And with three goals since the calendar flipped from November to December, this isn’t Jarome Iginla getting traded.

The rumoured price of a top prospect and high draft pick will be next to
impossible to rake in. That’s why Burke bothered to draw up an offer of
any kind in the first place.

It’s not fooling anyone.

Teams will continue to kick tires. Once the top forwards in the rumour
mill find homes or are confirmed to be sticking around — Matt Moulson,
Tomas Vanek, Ryan Kesler, Ryan Callahan, Martin St. Louis — then
Cammalleri’s price will be determined.

A prospect and a second-round pick might be the ceiling, despite Burke’s efforts to make his player sound more attractive