The most newsworthy part of Pierre McGuire's statement on The Sick Podcast wasn't that the Montreal Canadiens are exploring a Joel Armia trade. The idea of trading Armia makes sense, as he is in the last year of his contract, and it doesn't seem like the Habs are making a playoff run. The part of the statement that struck me the most is McGuire revealing inside secrets about a team's trade talks from his time in the front office.
Pierre McGuire: "They've been trying to trade Joel Armia for a long time I can tell you right now. I was working for a team where they offered Joel Armia to us and that was 3 years ago" 👀
— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) November 15, 2024
Full pod👇
Watch: https://t.co/tIx0TWQPek#GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast @TonyMarinaro pic.twitter.com/pc2pH45j91
McGuire joined the Ottawa Senators as the vice president of player development on July 12, 2021, shortly after the Canadiens' run to the Stanley Cup Final. His Senators tenure lasted less than a year, as the team let him go on May 9, 2022. While McGuire was with the team, the Canadiens offered Joel Armia to Ottawa.
The Canadiens finished last in the Atlantic Division that season with a 22-49-11 record. Armia struggled with 14 points in 60 games and a -15 rating. The rating was sixth-worst among the forwards while playing the fewest games of those six players. Armia stepped up in a big way for the Canadiens during the year prior's playoff run, so it makes sense that the Canadiens tried to capitalize.
The Senators finished one place ahead of the Canadiens in the Atlantic Division, but they had 18 more points. They were nowhere near making the playoffs, so trade talks between these two teams don't necessarily make sense. Did the Canadiens try to offload Armia immediately after the postseason when the Senators may have believed they had a chance of contending?
If that's the case, rebuilding was front of mind for the Canadiens before the season began. It makes sense, as the team knew internally that Carey Price and Shea Weber wouldn't return.
The worst thing about McGuire's claim is that the Canadiens veterans may have less trade value than fans like to believe. Armia has much more value to a contending team than a player like Christian Dvorak, and the Habs can't even get a team to bite. Finding two seperate trade partners for Armia and Dvorak will likely be challenging.
With all that said, Canadiens fans should expect to see this roster stay together for the rest of this season and ride out the inevitable. Anyone searching for significant changes or a veteran movement to bring prospects to the big club could only be out of luck until the Canadiens can finally find someone to take Armia.