Flames deal Tanguay, acquire Cammalleri on draft day

The Calgary Flames were among the busiest teams at the NHL entry draft in Ottawa on Friday, swinging a pair of deals that affected their current roster as well as their draft position.

A three-way deal allowed the Flames to acquire talented winger Mike Cammalleri from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 17th overall pick. The Kings then packaged the 17th and 28th picks and dealt them to the Anaheim Ducks to move up to the 12th overall selection.

Calgary followed that move by dealing forward Alex Tanguay and a 2008 fifth-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens for the 25th overall pick in this year's draft and a second-round selection in 2009.

The 25th overall pick acquired in the Tanguay deal was used to select centre Greg Nemisz from the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.

Cammalleri, 26, will essentially take Tanguay's place in the Flames' lineup and could play on a line with superstar winger Jarome Iginla next season. Cammalleri has one year remaining on a deal that will pay him $3.6 million US.

The native of Richmond Hill, Ont., scored 19 goals and added 28 assists in 63 games last season for the Kings. That was a steep decline from the 2006-07 season, which saw him score 34 goals with 46 assists in 81 games.

"I am thrilled to be coming to Calgary," Cammalleri told Rogers Sportsnet. "I have always wanted to play in Canada. Now I get to live it.

"I look forward to playing in the Saddledome [in front of] the Flames fans. I know some of the players on the Flames and look forward to working with them to bring the Cup to Calgary."

Tanguay, 28, apparently wasn't happy playing for Calgary head coach Mike Keenan, which may have resulted in a disappointing 2007-08 season for the five-time 20-goal scorer.

The eight-year veteran from Ste-Justine, Que., scored just 18 goals with 40 assists in 78 games for the Flames last season after posting a career-high 81 points (22 goals, 59 assists) for the club in 2006-07.

Tanguay has one year remaining on his contract at $5.375 million, but Montreal Canadiens GM Bob Gainey hinted that he may want to sign the forward to an extension.

"We have some young players that have gained experience and we add a player with experience that should play with us for a number of years," said Gainey.

"It's time for our team to make these kinds of moves. We want to be able to play with the best."