Montreal Canadiens Re-Sign Joel Armia to Two-Year Extension

The Montreal Canadiens announced on Thursday afternoon that they have re-signed RFA forward Joel Armia to a two-year contract that will see him earning $2.6 million AAV per year. Armia had 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points in 57 games.

This a perfect contract for both Joel Armia and the Montreal Canadiens as Armia gets paid what he deserves and the Canadiens still have a nice amount of cap space available to sign other notable RFAs such as Artturi Lehkonen and Charles Hudon as well as make significant moves if there are any to be done.

The Montreal Canadiens also avoid heading into arbitration which always has the chance of ruining the relationship between the player and the organization.

Why Is This a Good Signing?

Joel Armia plays a smart two-way game. Although he should not be relied on offensively too much, his smart defensive play allows his linemates to focus more on the offensive aspect of their play while Armia also notches 20-30 points alongside them.

Another positive with signing Joel Armia is that head coach Claude Julien and his coaching staff can reunite him Jesperi Kotkaniemi who Armia played with for the majority of the regular season.

Now that Kotkaniemi will be entering his second year of play in the NHL and will be more mature physically and mentally, both of them can build off their solid play from last season. If the Montreal Canadiens also re-sign Artturi Lehkonen which they will hopefully do so shortly, the Canadiens can reunite the Finnish trio on the third line.

The Montreal Canadiens and Joel Armia are no doubt happy they came to this agreement. In two years, Armia will be able to earn a nice pay raise as he is a very consistent player who makes his teammates jobs easier.

• Armia can also take occasional shifts on the powerplay and while this did not work earlier in the season, it was successful toward the end when Armia was playing down the middle so this is something the team should consider going froward.