[DIEHARD the King fan]

Since I promised I'd go through it all, here it is:

{Sorry for its off topic nature}

Originally Posted by s3machine

ok. i'll try this without the name calling..

I dont like the fact that Cammalleri had so many wonderful things to say about the Canadian fanbase after he was traded to Calgary.. Mike said that it was a no brainer that he wanted to play in Canada and was probably going to sign with a Canadian team after his contract was done with the Kings. It wasnt more so that I didnt like the fact that he was saying good things about the Canadian fanbase because we all know that country bleads hockey.. but the way he said it made it seem as if us fans in LA werent passioniate, that we didnt know as much about the game as the fans up north did.. That we didnt deserve the caliber of player that he is...

Nothing Cammy said was in any way negative about the Kings, and even your perceptions admit that. He merely was showing the new fans how excited he was about playing in a new city. He may have implied that he was happy about being on a team where MANAGEMENT wanted him, which it was very clear that in LA managment thought he was unworthy. There can be NO DEBATE about THAT. DL didnt want him, thought he wasnt a team player and denigrated him personally. On this point I do have personal first-hand knowledge.

Next, Mike never said anything about wanting to sign with a Canadian team "after his contract was done with the Kings." MC wanted to stay, liked his teammates, had and still has an amazing house that he had fixed up to his liking, and loves the South Bay area. He spends time here in the summer.

Originally Posted by s3machine

What about all the times we packed Staples Center to watch a minor league hockey team play?

What about all the times we stood on the edge of our seats chanting GO KINGS GO at the top of our lungs almost ensuring we would have no voice left for the next couple days?

What about the fact that we kept coming back season after season knowing that we did not have the talent to compete with the elite in the NHL?

Thats not passion? Thats not a strong fanbase?

You are equating (mistaking?) your level of passion and commitment as a fan with a decision management made to jettison a player who gave his heart and soul to this team. Before Kopitar, he was the number one offensive threat. After Kopitar he was the number 2 guy, and up until the Penner acquisition, the team lacked what was traded away with MC: a player that had a shot first scorer mentality.

Look, I guarantee you, there are very few on this board , or in the rink, that are louder or more vociferous at games than I am in support of the Kings. But Cammy NEVER SAID A NEGATIVE WORD about fans in LA. I think you may have drank the DL mixed kool-aid that was swirling around at the time to justify DL's decision to jettison him. A position many on this board adopted with a full deep swig of the same kool-aid.

Originally Posted by s3machine

...and I also dont like the fact that an oft injured one or 2 hit wonder was asking for 6+ mil per year.. and wasnt the rumor that as our NHLPA rep Mike was asking for that kind of money to drive up the average salary for players? Do we really need another lockout when the CBA expires because of salaries? Another lockout will all but ensure our league to be 6 feet under.

Ah, now you are at least getting to something that I can see actual merit in, and hopefully this bit of information will give you more to consider (or reconsider) in your views on MC. The 6MM per figure was based on two things, First and foremost it was a negotiating point set between MC and his agent. Did he expect to get 6MM from the Kings? Unlikely, No agent or busnessman or person with any bit of negotiating savvy opens negotiations at the number they are willing to accept. That number was, at least in part, a repsonse to being absolutely low-balled by a GM who categotically disliked the player AND the person.

Now, it is also NOT a rumor, but actual fact, that as the players rep, MC and his agent tried to use the 6MM figure to help boost the player salaries in the league, and the reasoning and facts were as follows: Vanek, who had scored 40+ goals the prior season was given an offer sheet that was matched by a desperate Buffalo team (that had in the then recent past had lost Drury and Briere) of 7MM a year for 7 years. The reasoning was that if Vanek, a similar player to Cammy, but with greater production was worth 7MM a year then Cammy was worth 6MM. The use of other players production and salaries in negotiating is called comparables, and Cammy saw that as a way to help maximize his salary while doing his job as a league rep also. The fact that his position brought him in conflict with a GM known for taking hard line stances in negotiations, a GM who didnt like him, neither as a player or a person, and a GM who took those points public, and then had to backpedal away from them when later questioned by fans foretold Cammy's demise as a King.

There are many on this board who think he is one dimensional and not worth what he is being paid. They have their opinion. But saying he is not a high claiber sniper is nor a good teammate is simply not true. Do recall that in his last year here Cammy got injured going to aid a teammate in a scrum. He was a leading scorer on the team at that point. His next year in Calgary where he was asked to provide offense he did just that with 39 goals. The next year he had 25 in Montreal, but tied for the league lead in goals (14) during Montreal's surprisiing run in the playoffs although he played six less games than Danny Briere. Sure they rode a hot goalie, but so too did MC score clutch goals that helped them win.

As I said all along, you are entitled to your opinion. Mine, on this subject, is based not only on my perceptions of MC as a player and a person, but on information gleaned from the GM himself, who made it abundantly clear what his opinion of MC was, and favorable or positive are words that in NO WAY could be confused with his opinion regardign MC.

That trade is long since done, the boat has sailed, and it can be said that MC ultimately netted us Dustin Penner, a far better result than the project that may(or may not) someday be known as the NHL player Colton Tuebert.

Originally Posted by s3machine

Hope this explains my stance on the Cammy situation.. If I came off as a jerk off myself.. I apolagize.. Theres a reason why I chose to post here and not LGK.. I like this site.. like all the posters here.. and gulp.. I like the mods here too.. theyre firm.. but fair... This is a great community...Im just tryin to be apart of the family.. Sometimes I have strong opinions on some subjects.. I promise I mean no harm.

Thanks for reading.

Hope all the above gives you a different view on the Cammy matter.

And Yes this is a great board, with many very intelligent, expressive and astutue posters from all walks of life, some with a good bit of real life hockey knowledge too. This isnt LGK. Some posters have tiffs with others, but it almost always stays topic related, factually based and somewhat calm, although barbs do fly now and then. You'll find you will be far more well received here with a factually supported argument or just a plain old opinion than one which attacks just for the hell of it. Again, your right to post how you wish.. Thats just my cent and half's worth.

{We now return control of your Channels back to you}

Last edit (for Butch 19) assist TG:

... "in Nashville...."