Nobody Does Meltdowns Quite Like Montreal

The Canadiens are scraping the bottom of the conference. Everything that can go wrong, has. Mike Cammalleri voiced some of those frustrations Wednesday, complaining about playing time and the Habs' "losing mentality." One day later, he's gone. This will solve all their problems!

Cammalleri was removed from last night's game and shipped off to Calgary. Since Randy Cunneyworth can't speak French, we'll translate that front page headline from Le Journal de Montreal: "One Less Loser."

A delightful little reference to Cammalleri's grievance-laden rant:

"I can't accept that we will display a losing attitude as we're doing this year. We prepare for our games like losers. We play like losers. So it's no wonder why we lose."

Cammalleri is one of the more outspoken players in the NHL, always refreshingly honest, sometimes to the point of alienation. But here's the fascinating thing about Montreal: players aren't allowed to badmouth the franchise, but fans and reporters are constantly in a race to do it first and most brutally. Note the backlash against Cammalleri, or the Journal's coverage, or the cover story in this week's : "Inside The Long Pathetic Fall Of The Once Great Canadiens Empire."

That headline is only overstatement if you're not a Habs fan. Cammalleri's comments? They might have been the nicest, most encouraging things anyone's said about the Canadiens in months, and he's told to hit the bricks.

Journal cover via Habs Inside Out