Campoli thought he would be back with Hawks
Chris Campoli slipped back into town Wednesday with the Montreal Canadiens, facing his former team for the first time since his nightmarish turnover in overtime cost the Blackhawks Game 7 against Vancouver in the first round of the playoffs.
The Hawks and Campoli parted ways in July after the defenseman's contract demands were deemed too rich by general manager Stan Bowman.
It's believed Campoli asked for the same sort of deal (four years, $11 million) that the Hawks gave Steve Montador as a free agent. Campoli was awarded $2.5 million in arbitration but by that time the Hawks had lost interest in him and walked away.
Campoli didn't sign with Montreal until late in training camp for one year at $1.75 million. He'll be an unrestricted free agent again after the season.
“I've got nothing but good things to say about the organization,” Campoli said. “I wouldn't trade my experience. It didn't work out financially, but it was something I'll never forget. It was a great time for me here.”
Campoli admitted he thought he would be back.
“At the time is was a little disappointing,” he said. “I thought it worked well for me here. I thought I fit in well.”
Campoli claimed he didn't have a problem seeing the Hawks give Montador the same contract he wanted.
“Steve did great,” Campoli said. “That's the marketplace. Good for him. I was happy for him. Steve's a friend of mine.”
As for the turnover in OT in Vancouver with the score tied 1-1 that resulted in Alex Burrows' winning goal, Campoli has moved on from that.
“It was something that happened, something that I'll learn from,” Campoli said. “It won't be the last mistake. As a professional you deal with things throughout your career. Unfortunately, I made a mistake at a real critical time. I've put it behind me and moved on. I think I'm a better person and better player for everything I went through in Chicago.”
It was a clearing try in his own end with nobody supporting him that Campoli tried to lift out of the zone only to have Burrows reach up with his glove and intercept it. The rest is history.
“If I could so something different, I would just probably use the glass,” Campoli said. “I had the right intentions.”