MONTREAL - Montreal Canadiens' GM Pierre Gauthier announced following the team's loss in Boston Thursday that forward Michael Cammalleri had been traded to Calgary.

In exchange, the team receives Rene Bourque, 30, a 6'2" 205 lb left-winger who scored 27 goals last season.

In addition, the team also gave up a fifth round draft choice in 2012 and the rights to a goalie playing in Europe named Karri Ramo.

The Canadiens also receive minor league centreman Patrick Holland, who plays with the Tri-City Americans in the Western Junior league, as well as a second round draft choice in 2013.

Bourque, who has 13 goals and three assists in 38 games this season, said the move took him by surprise. He is currently a five-game suspension.

"It's a big shock. I had no idea that any of this was going on,'' he said. "But, if there's any place I want to play, it's Montreal. I've always enjoyed playing there so I'm happy that I get to go to a place where I enjoy playing.

"I spent 3 1/2 years here. I'm going to miss the guys, the staff, and everybody that's involved in the organization. But, I'm going to a new family now.''

The trade comes one day after Cammalleri questioned the Canadiens' attitude in the dressing room after a loss to the St. Louis Blues, and said the team played with a losing mentality.

Gauthier denied the trade had anything to do with the recent controversy and said the team has been working on a deal for more than a month.

"No, not at all,'' Gauthier said. "I didn't make a big deal about all that. There's emotion around the team, somebody says something, I'd rather see emotion than people that don't care. ... He never asked to be traded or anything. He's part of the team and he cares a lot. That's why he made those comments.''

The Alberta-born Bourque is of Metis heritage but cannot speak French, despite his name. He enjoyed consecutive seasons of 27 goals prior to this campaign and a season of 21 goals before that.

In an unusual move, Cammalleri was pulled from the game against Boston after the second period.

Once the trade was complete, the wanted to make sure he wasn't injured in the final period of the game, Gauthier said.

The GM said Bourque meets the team's need to get bigger up front and that most goals in today's NHL are scored near the net.

The young players who joined the team this year like David Desharnais and Rafael Diaz are smaller skaters, he said.

"The majority of goals are scored around the net now, on deflections, screened shots,'' he said. "We need to score those difficult goals. You need to go to those areas to get those second and third chances.''

"We improved our team tonight. It's not to put down Mr. Cammalleri, it was to get bigger as a team.''

Cammalleri is listed as five-foot-nine and 190 pounds, while Bourque's player profile says he is six-foot-two and 211 pounds.

Gauthier said the trade had been in the works since December.

Cammalleri, 29, returns to Calgary where he played in 2008-2009, scoring 39 goals after being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings. The Flames failed to re-sign him and Cammalleri joined the Canadiens, where he had seasons of 26 goals and 19 goals before this season.

The Toronto-born Cammalleri signed with Montreal in 2009 and cited it as a sort of homecoming as he has many relatives in the city. He became a fan favorite after leading the team in scoring during their 2010 playoff run.

Cammalleri told journalists prior to the game that he didn't want to leave Montreal and had recently built a house in the city, after living in an Old Montreal condo.

with files from The Canadian Press