The panel discusses the importance of veterans in Montreal

Joel Armia is a professional. He knows who he is and he performs his job very well. With the Canadiens hovering around the playoff bubble, have expectations changed for Armia?

By just about every metric, Armia is having his finest season. He’s projected to have 14 goals and 38 points. That’s really good considering his usage. His penalty kill usage is high for good reason. I'd like to see him shoot more. His goals are down compared to last season and that’s something he can improve on. That’s my expectation for him. Getting close to the 17 goals he had last year. The rest is solid.

Armia is a UFA after this season. Martin St. Louis has talked about his resurgence. How he is a key contributor. Well, the Canadiens need to start negotiating with him or there’s always a risk with the cap rising that some team will offer him stupid money. Kent Hughes can get ahead of this now before it becomes something bigger.

Some will say he’s making too much for a fourth liner. I’m not sure. These days there are some teams that rely on their fourth lines to not only create some energy but to provide a spark. That includes offensively and a young team needs veterans so this will be an interesting negotiation. I would give him three years. He’s going to be 32 and that’s as far as I would want to push the needle considering the Canadiens will have young players to replace him towards the end of his deal.

Joel Armia Has Improved This Season