Joel Armia's Comeback Story With Canadiens Making Him Trade Candidate

Joel Armia has had an interesting season with the Montreal Canadiens. The early portion of his season didn't go as planned and he was sent to the AHL, only to fight his way back and contribute to the team since.

One thing to note about Armia is that while he is overpaid with a cap hit of $3.4 million AAV through next season, he has been effective in his role. He has 10 goals on the season and he hasn't played a full season in the NHL (43 games). That is more than a lot of teams can say for some players. While Armia is currently playing on the second line of the banged up Canadiens, he realistically is a fourth line player that wouldn't be bad at all for a contender.

What might scare teams is that even at 50% retained on his contract, he would have a cap hit of $1.7 million AAV and have another year left on his deal. I think that his comeback this season proves that he belongs in the NHL and can contribute in the NHL. He has one goal and five points in his last five games and is averaging nearly 15 minutes a game.

The Canadiens have some trade candidates this season and would like to get some value back from the players they may be able to move. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said that the Habs will listen to offers, if they get any. If the Canadiens manage to get a third team involved to take on a little bit of the salary, this should only cost a sixth or seventh-round pick.