|
In Hainsight: Accountability is Key |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
It’s a rare occurrence in Montreal that a veteran gets waived to be sent down to the AHL. A few weeks ago, Kent Hughes had even said that it’s not a good look for a team to waive a veteran and bury him in the American league and it was the kind of things players around the league noticed. Even with that considered though, the Canadiens decided to place Armia on waivers alongside 24-year-old blueliner right-shot blueliner Gustav Lindstrom.
Armia arrived in Montreal in 2018 as a bonus for the Canadiens relieving the Jets of Steve Mason and his big contract which the Habs promptly bought out. In the big Finn, the Canadiens were getting a former first-round pick who they felt had a lot of untapped potential.
Unfortunately, they were never able to fully unlock said potential. His health was always an issue as he never managed to play more than 60 games in a season and was no stranger to 40-odd match seasons. From time to time, he showed impressive stickhandling skills and in the 2021 Cup run, he gathered 8 points in 21 games playing with Eric Staal and Corey Perry. Following those playoffs, former general manager Marc Bergevin granted him a 4-year deal with a 3.4 million cap hit per season. Even after what were his best moments as a Hab, the deal seemed too generous and even more so when he failed to deliver year after year.
Now, Armia’s in the third year of the $13.6 M contract and the Canadiens’ patience with the enigmatic Finn has finally worn off. Based on his offensive production and cap hit, it would be rather surprising if a team decided to claim him and a stint in Laval seems likely. Rocket head coach Jean-François Houle is ready to welcome him stating that whenever you get a NHL caliber player in the AHL, it’s good news.
As for Lindstrom, he landed in Montreal as part of the Jeff Petry deal and he was seen as some depth on the thin right-side of the defense. He spent the last season as the seventh blueliner in Detroit and nobody thought he would be a savior for the Canadiens’ defense corps.
One man’s sorrow is another man’s joy though and the fact that Armia and Lindstrom were the only two players waived mean that Cayden Primeau will be staying in the NHL for now, just like Jesse Ylonen. While Primeau’s camp wasn’t perfect, he’s still the Canadiens’ netminder who had the best numbers in the preseason games and the organization decided to tread carefully and not risk losing him on waivers.
Right now, the Canadiens’ roster includes 25 players, meaning that another two players will be cut today by 5:00 PM to comply with the 23-man roster limit. Logic dictates that Justin Barron who has had a very weak camp will be one of the casualties, as for the other one, it could be any of the waiver exempt players: Arber Xhekaj, Jordan Harris, Kaiden Guhle, Mattias Norlinder, Juraj Slafkovsky, Rafael Harvey-Pinard or Emil Heineman. I believe it will be between Norlinder and Heineman as the others have already proven what they can do in the big league.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»