Montreal Canadiens: Where Does Joel Armia Fit?
The Montreal Canadiens did not complete a major facelift in the offseason. They shuffled a few of the deck chairs around, and moved out a couple of veterans, but only made a couple of additions.
Their biggest losses in the offseason included wingers Jonathan Drouin and Denis Gurianov leaving as free agents as well as Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick being traded away in the Erik Karlsson megadeal that shook up the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks rosters while the Habs got involved as a third party.
Their big additions up front were Alex Newhook who came over from the Colorado Avalanche in a trade as well as Tanner Pearson who arrived for Casey DeSmith. Their goaltenders remain the same and the defense is quite similar to last season with the removal of Joel Edmundson who was traded to the Washington Capitals and replaced by Gustav Lindstrom who arrived from the Detroit Red Wings.
All in all, there was some minor tinkering with a couple of veteran wingers cleared out. That should be good news for wingers who remain on the team from last season, but where exactly does Joel Armia fit into the Habs plans?
We know he has two years remaining on his contract which will see him earn $3.4 million per year. That alone means the team will do everything they can, but what role will they be able to give Armia on a healthy team?
Armia was a first round pick way back in 2011 and spent the next decade convincing everyone an offensive breakout was right around the corner. He has always been a smart, reliable defensive player who can kill penalties, but the offensive side just never developed.
His best season in Montreal saw him score 16 goals and 30 points in 58 games in 2019-20. That had him on pace for 23 goals and 42 points over a full season. He followed that up with 14 points in 41 games and was then rewarded with a four year contract extension.
Since then, Armia scored 14 goals in 60 games in 2021-22 and had 14 points in 43 games last season. He is now 30 years old and that offensive breakout seems more unlikely than ever. Still, he does play a sound defensive game, but on a rebuilding Canadiens team, where does he fit in?
The Habs are going to use Cole Caufield, Josh Anderson, and likely Alex Newhook and Juraj Slafkovsky in the top six on the wing. If Newhook plays center instead, it will probably mean Sean Monahan moves to the wing and gets a bigger role than Armia. The Canadiens also have veterans wingers Brendan Gallagher and Tanner Pearson as well as youngsters Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Jesse Ylonen looking for roles on the team.
Add in Michael Pezzetta and there are ten wingers looking for eight spots in the opening night lineup. We know Gallagher won’t be a healthy scratch and a newcomer like Pearson will be given a chance to prove himself, leaving Armia battling the two young wingers for a lineup spot.
With the Canadiens looking to build for the future, it would make more sense to play Ylonen and Harvey-Pinard and not Armia. Investing in youth instead of playing veterans who have proven what they are is the best direction for a team in the Canadiens position to take.
It could all lead to Armia being an odd man out on a number of occasions if the team is healthy. Unless he can finally show a bit more offense in preseason, Armia could very well be sitting in the press box when the puck drops to begin the 2023-24 season.
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