Back in September, when the Season hadn’t even started yet, I opined that Joel Armia should be placed on waivers. I didn’t see a place for him in the Montreal Canadiens’ lineup any longer, his contract looked completely untradeable, and it seemed like the team was better off exposing him to waivers, and hoping that another team would pick him up. I know I wasn’t alone in such thinking, but it was perhaps a bit of an aggressive reaction on my part to
Today, I’m here to eat some humble pie on that pre-season take.
At least, a sliver of humble pie, because the team did eventually take that suggestion, and it just may have been the best thing for Armia. He was clearly a step ahead of the competition in the AHL, and his performance in Laval – coupled with injuries in Montreal – eventually paved the way for his return to the Tricolore. Since returning, not only has he looked like he absolutely belongs there, he’s been one of their more dependable forwards night in, and night out.
Against Colorado on Tuesday night, very few Canadiens forwards performed well from a statistical standpoint. Armia not only scored the game winner, but posted a very respectable stat line, including a 100% share of high-danger chances at even-strength, and a 65.87% share of expected-goals. This, on a night where the team’s overall mark for expected goals was under 40%. He was also a key part of a penalty kill that miraculously held the Avalanche to zero goals on three attempts, albeit with a fair bit of help from Samuel Montembeault in net.
Now, some credit is absolutely due to Alex Newhook and Brendan Gallagher, who along with Armia completed the best line the Habs had going in Colorado. Singling out Armia shouldn’t take anything away from them, but the story of his resurgence from waivers to dependable middle-six forward has been quite something. He’s gone from potential buyout candidate, to a player with some real value. With the cap set to rise next season, he could very well be a candidate for an off-season trade, or to secure himself a middle-six role with a different-looking Canadiens squad next season.
I’m taking this as a personal lesson not to count a player out until they’ve had a chance to find their game. It wasn’t an overnight process for Joel Armia, but he’s found his game in a big way, and turned himself back into a legitimate asset for the Habs.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. The Canadiens have now finished their road trip, and we’ll return when they do at the Bell Centre, tomorrow night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
