News came out Thursday morning that the Montreal Canadiens and Joel Armia had come to terms on a two-year contract with an AAV of $2.6 million. Armia, a native of Pori, Finland, and the Canadiens organization were set to head to arbitration on July 20th, but came to an agreement, therefore, avoiding it.
Entering his first season with the Canadiens and his fourth season in the NHL, Armia, previously with the Buffalo Sabres and Winnipeg Jets, was added to the team’s top nine depth behind Brendan Gallagher and Andrew Shaw. After an average start, he seemed to find his role towards the end of the regular season, playing alongside fellow countrymen Artturi Lehkonen and rookie sensation Jesperi Kotkaniemi. During this time, the three Finns complimented each other rather well.
The 6’4, 205lbs right-winger is not an offensive machine, but has great lower body strength and possesses great puck control and has the ability to protect the puck. He is the player on a trio that makes space for his line-mates and when he chose to shoot, had a good shot. He definitely helped Kotkaniemi get comfortable moving from Assat Pori to the NHL.
In Armia’s four seasons split between the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets, his 2019 campaign was his most productive as he recorded .41 points per game. This being said, he finished the season with 23 points in 57 games played.
Armia was acquired from the Winnipeg Jets back on June 30th of 2018 along with goaltender Steve Mason, a seventh-round draft pick and a fourth-round draft pick in 2020. Headed the other way was OUAA defensemen Simon Bourque.