According to Martin St-Louis, the decision to subject Joel Armia to exemptions was “calculated”.
“It is a calculated decision. But it may be more of a question for Kent (Hughes),” the Canadiens head coach commented Monday afternoon.
In his opinion, this choice does not mean that Armia is no longer in the team’s plans. “I don’t think he’s out of the plans anymore,” St-Louis said.
When asked about his assessment of the Finnish striker’s work in the training camp, he simply replied: “He was always decent, but he was injured and it was difficult to make up for it.”
Armia took part in two of his team’s six preseason games and did not collect any points.
In 43 games last season he only had 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists). The 30-year-old winger has a two-year contract with a salary of $3.4 million, which likely explains why he was passed over by the other 31 NHL teams that were eligible by 2 p.m.
A saving of 1.15 million
Marc Bergevin offered him a contract extension of four years and 13.6 million on July 27, 2021. Armia had just had a good run in the playoffs with eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) in 21 games.
Armia was selected in the first round (16th) by the Buffalo Sabers in 2011 and has always been described as a mysterious winger. In Montreal, Claude Julien, Dominique Ducharme and St-Louis gave similar speeches about him, reminding us that he has all the talent in the world, but doesn’t always have the will to win.
If Armia ever continues on its path with the Laval rocket, the Habs would see a savings of 1.15 million.
According to the collective bargaining agreement (Article 50.5), NHL teams can burn a lump sum by trading a player on a one-way contract to the American League. The calculation is as follows: minimum salary ($775,000 in 2023-2024) plus $375,000.
Armia, on the other hand, would earn his entire salary. Note that number 40 will affect 4.8 million people in 2023-2024, but its salary footprint will remain at 3.4 million.
– In collaboration with Jean-François Chaumont from the Journal de Montréal