Joel Armia’s name was swirling in rumors ahead of the trade deadline, but he ended up staying put, because the Montreal Canadiens opted to carry onto him. General manager Kent Hughes decided to remain the course and never move on from his expiring contracts, trusting the team to make a playoff push. It showed a major belief in his group, and there is no doubt trading Armia would’ve made the team worse. Sometimes, people undervalue depth within the NHL, but more often than not, they’re the straw that stirs the drink.
The Canadiens have loads of draft capital, and their prospect pool is probably the greatest in hockey. No team will reject more picks or prospects, however it becomes redundant at a certain point. There hasn’t been much success across the team recently, and one other sale on the deadline would’ve been the fourth-straight 12 months of a nasty stretch run. The young players now get the possibility to make a playoff push in probably the greatest markets within the league.
It is also hard to underestimate the effect of the front office’s belief within the team. The reality is that the Canadiens earned 11 of 12 possible points after the 4 Nations Break, showing that a playoff push is not beyond the realm of possibility. It won’t be the tip of the world in the event that they don’t find yourself within the postseason, though, which is why Hughes didn’t develop into a buyer on the deadline. Nevertheless, he’s giving this tight-knit group a shot.
The query now could be what players the Canadiens will try and re-sign within the offseason. Loads of young players are waiting within the wings, but you’ll be able to’t do away with all of your veterans when attempting to be a contender. Will Armia be an element of the Canadiens’ future plans? Let’s have a look at why he needs to be, and why Montreal should hand him a brand new contract extension.
Joel Armia and Jake Evans form an exceptional penalty-killing tandem
Jake Evans was one other player the Canadiens explored trading on the deadline. It didn’t come to fruition, as Evans signed a team-friendly four-year contract extension to remain on the town. The agreement keeps a bottom-six center with the team and helps out their penalty kill. The issue is that Evans is just one-half of the tandem of him and Armia, and he won’t be as effective without the Finland-born two-way forward.
The Canadiens have the sixth-best penalty kill within the league, which is astonishing, considering how bad their team defense has sometimes been. The team has faced some issues defending at 5-on-5, but their penalty kill has been impeccable. One other pending unrestricted free agent, David Savard, is one other massive piece of that group. Armia and Evans’ penalty-killing success was one in all the major reasons teams valued them on the deadline, and it’s something the front office has to contemplate moving forward.
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Montreal has loads of players in Laval who could play bottom-six minutes for the team. Nevertheless, they will not make the identical impact on the special teams unit as Armia and Evans. It is advisable to have great special teams units with a view to be a Stanley Cup contender, and the Canadiens need to remain an elite penalty-killing team. It’s OK to need to squeeze in all of the young forwards, but Hughes and head coach Martin St. Louis should all the time attempt to make room for Armia.
Ivan Demidov’s pending arrival next season will help the team’s powerplay. In the event that they can move up those rankings while remaining a top-10 penalty killing squad, winning will probably be on the horizon for the league’s most successful franchise.
With Joel Armia, the Canadiens know what they’re getting
It is easy to sit down here in March 2025 and say the Canadiens have some depth options in Laval. Nevertheless, putting expectations on players without seeing them play within the NHL is all the time going to be dangerous business. Montreal desires to contend sooner fairly than later, and it would be a nasty time for them to make some call-ups next season, just for those players to struggle out of the gates. Joel Armia gives the Canadiens something they need: reliability and consistency.
Armia’s point pace has been consistently between 25 and 35 points. He doesn’t have many seasons where he’s a major minus-player, which is a formidable feat considering the terrible rebuilding teams he has played on over the past few seasons in Montreal. Armia also stepped up for the Canadiens through the 2021 Stanley Cup Final run, so that have is nice to have on a rebuilding team. Montreal hasn’t been within the postseason since then, however it’s a layer of leadership the young players will need should they return.
Joel Armia might appear to be a replaceable player, however the Canadiens’ front office shouldn’t underestimate the void he could leave in the event that they do move on from him.
