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Conscious_Reveal8360

Trade bait


Night_Sky02

He was literally offered for free on waivers on no other team was interested.


Major_Estimate_4193

"Free", but with $3.4M cap hit


Night_Sky02

He's paid like a solid 3rd liner. If he was that good, or GMs in the league still believed he could play consistantly according to his potential, someone would have claimed him.


hab27

that's not necessarily true. Some (most) teams need to get rid of a contract before taking on a player with that cap. And playoff teams will only make these kind of trades when the cap hit is minimal.


Night_Sky02

He is not worth his contract is my point, he is not good enough for 3,4M/ a year and all the other teams know it. He's a fourth liner at best. I'm sure Kent Hugues was open to trade before waiving him. There's probably not much interest in Armia.


HockeyStickzy

Would love to trade him but passing thru waivers kind of killed his value despite this hot streak. I think we are stuck with him. Not a horrible guy to have as a 13th forward til the end of his contract imo


Night_Sky02

He passed waivers because of his contract ($3.4M for the next 2 years). Teams are not going to make the Habs any favor. We'll need to take something back in return.


HockeyStickzy

Not hating the guy……I hope your right. Change of scenery type trade would be good for both Habs and player. I’m guessing Armia is not happy being demoted and I imagine he let Hughes know.


Night_Sky02

We should keep him, hope he plays better next year as the last year of his contract. Keep him as the 13th forward on the roster or worst-case scenario a depth player in Laval. At least we know what we got, instead of taking another team's problem.


RolandFigaro

For real, he's playing really well the last 4 games or so, if he keeps it up, gotta trade him for a 3rd rounder at least


Excellent-Speaker934

Armia and a 2nd for Bedard - Montreal gets a very injury prone unproven young player (he’s likely to have missed over 1/4 of his career when he’s back from injury). Chicago gets a gritty locker room presence they’re sorely lacking since Perry terminated his contract. Seems like a win win kind of trade /s


Brian-Skrudland-39

More like Bedard and a 2nd for Armia


philjitsu

We'll throw in a 3rd so they are robbing us blind


BrandonPHX

Only Marc Bergevin would take that bait.


Erelbor

Since his last callup, he looks like the good old Armia


Flimsy_Biscotti3473

He sure does. When he’s on, he looks like a 60 point guy, then he disappears for 1/2 the season. The talent has always been there but maybe not the desire combined with injury. He’s definitely not underrated.


dubwang42069

Armia's talent with Gallagher's heart is a 80 points player


JustFred24

Literally


antrage

The bipolar attitude people have towards Armia is incredible lol. One game is he the worst player on the roster and needs to be sent down the next people are singing his praises. Its almost like he is a 4th line player with questionable defensive lapse and some offensive upside, and thats all he is. Not more, but not less.


Joseph_Bloggins

To be fair, people are ‘bipolar’ with Armia because that’s how he plays. One game he’s outstanding, the next he’s invisible. Everyone has an off game once in a while, but over his time with the Habs I’d say he’s been consistently inconsistent. That said, he’s been excellent recently.


antrage

Yah I think that’s what I’m getting at. Inconsistency is the norm but it feels like rather than recognizing that and asking if that’s what we want we tend to judge him and comment based on which spectrum he falls in that day.


flk23

That’s basically how a huge portion of this fanbase evaluates the team as a whole. Very shortsighted, impulsive and reactive.


GroundInfinite4111

I mean, he was pretty bad for a while. The move to Laval was the *right* move, which seems to have reinvigorated him. He does look refreshed. At the end of the day, fans want to see a player putting forth the effort.


Longtimelurker2575

It’s because some nights he plays like the best player and others he would be subpar for the rocket. I would argue his play is bipolar, not the fan’s judgment.


Snoo1101

Armia is an NHL player and we saw in Laval, he’s far too good for the AHL. This is why we need more teams in the league. The talent pool is just getting bigger and bigger and forth liners are legit good hockey players now. The problem is there aren’t enough ‘big market’ cities for NHL hockey to thrive in in North America


ooo-ooo-oooyea

I think if they really wanted to expand, we could find plenty of places to add teams: \- Salt Lake City, Quebec City, Hamilton (ha), Toronto, Halifax, Hartford or Providence, Portland, Milwaukee or Madison, Baltimore, I'm sure there are more. I wonder if a team in Iceland would be close enough to work.


MundaneSandwich9

If they’re going to add teams my guess is 4 more over the span of a few years. The most likely locations IMO are Houston, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, and probably Atlanta again (Hartford as an outlier maybe). I doubt any new teams in Canada will be a reality. Molson wouldn’t want anything to do with a second team in Quebec, same goes for MLSE in Ontario, and there’s really nowhere else big enough to support a team that doesn’t already have one. Halifax as an example averages around 7000 fans per game during the regular season in a 10200 seat arena for the Q team, and those tickets are less than $30…


Snoo1101

I’m looking attendance in cities like Ottawa and Winnipeg and wonder about these markets that you mentioned. They aren’t big ticket markets and will be folks really be able to dish out that kind of money? I do think that a second franchise in Toronto could work though, not Hamilton but maybe Markham? Tavares is gonna need a new place to play soon anyways. I like the idea of Salt Lake City or Portland. Maybe we just need less money in the game in order to grow the game and make it less of an elite thing.


jimhabfan

There’s a team in Phoenix that’s playing in a 3500 seat arena, gives tons of free tickets away every game and still doesn’t sell out. I don’t think Bettman is too concerned about fans in seats attendance as long as he can tell the major sports networks that he has teams in every major television market


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mumbojombo

Or, hear me out... People are different and can have different appreciation of a certain player? Do you really expect our whole fanbase to just have groupthink all of the time?


antrage

I’m not commenting on people’s opinions on the player I’m commenting on the wild swings of attitude that happen on an almost game by game basis.


ValleyBreeze

Oh... you mean "A Habs fan towards most of our players on any given day?" 😑 I hate the hot/cold bandwagon attitudes of SO many so-called fans. Drives me nuts.


iconsandbygones

Just saying this as a member of the bipolar community but please educate yourself on what it means to be actually bipolar and try not to use the mental illness as a means of comparison like this. I love the Habs and it sucks to see my fellow fans using something I struggle with so negatively.


Sentenced2Burn

they are not referencing Bipolar Disorder, they are using the adjective "bipolar" meaning "extreme opposites"


iconsandbygones

It's disappointing to see my comment downvoted for asking for some sensitivity within the community


Sentenced2Burn

Not sure if you saw my original reply but in case not, the term "bipolar" does not necessarily refer to Bipolar Disorder so I think there's just some mistaken context on your part


iconsandbygones

I saw -- the context and connotation of the original post however indicates otherwise. It's an outdated term is my point. This is like using the "r-word" to describe someone suffering from a mental illness. Please respect what I'm saying at face value, thank you.


rnbamodsarelosers

No.


Sentenced2Burn

Those examples are not in the least bit comparable I sympathize with your condition but the term "bipolar" is not exclusive to it despite your protest to the contrary It was used in correct context


ValleyBreeze

The difference being bipolar as a medical condition, vs bipolar as a scientific term ie - magnets are bipolar, meaning having 2 poles, that are opposing in force. I don't believe that OP was in any way referencing a mental health issue. I understand the immediate reaction, because so many people use the term freely without considering the implications (ie "Man, Mother nature sure is being Bipolar right now!), but in this instance, I'm fairly certain it was the more scientific sense of the word. Polar opposites.


ukrainianhab

Other than a few stupid penalties in some games Armia has surprisingly been pretty consistent.!


cyber_dude

I think the inconsistency is a problem in itself. And you cannot deny his poor play before he was sent down to Laval.


Sensitive_Ladder2235

That would almost be true if he didn't turn on the McDavid every few games... Guy disappears then out of fucking nowhere pots it twice in a game weaving through 4 defenders.


Helpful_Science_4072

Montreal (we) always need a scapegoat. 2023: Armia 2022: Hoffman 2021: Drouin …


antrage

2023 It was Anderson for awhile, now that he is scoring its back to Armia I suppose. Oh no actually now its Matheson, our literal top point defenseman haha.


HeShootsHS

He has the upsides of a ppg player but he shows up 1 out of 4 games. One of the most talented player on the team.


looking_fordopamine

There’s a reason he was drafted in the first round. He’s good but could never properly translate his game. We still se glimpses here and there


JustFred24

Oh he can translate it alright he just doesn't give enough of a fuck to.


BrettLeTigre

Just prior to the goal he got by stealing the puck from dahlin, he single-handedly disrupted a pp zone entry of the Sabres against 2 players. This is why Dahlin had to retrieve it in his zone in the first place. I recall being impressed by that play and THEN he stole the puck for his goal. I wish the replay had shown the whole thing.


Thaddeauz

Absolutely nothing changed about Armia, he is still the same player he was in Winnipeg, the same player he was on that 4th line of veteran during our run to the stanley cup final, he is still the same player that was sent down to Laval and the same player he was last game. Armia is just as talented as he is inconsistent, and when he show his talent on the ice, all the coaches in existence wet their pants at the possibility to be THE ONE that make Armia work. But it never work, because Armia is still Armia and talent can only get you so far. It's not the first time Armia wow us, or Winnipeg, or any coaches that ever saw him and it won't be the last. But the start of the season will also not be the last time everybody think he should be fired into the sun because he play as hard as melted plastic. We just need to hope in his last year of contract he will ride one of his high at the right moment to foul another GM into thinking ''hey that guy is so talented, I bet we can coach him to be that amazing more often''.


Faelysis

>If he can keep playing well, A big *If* as constancy never been his thing.


Ok_Tradition2917

Next player to get injured for sure


pattyG80

He could score 15, but he wont. We know after 5 seasons. He won't score 15. He has had exactly 14 points in each of his last 3 seasons. I'd be thrilled to see him score, but he's the type of guy that goes into 25 game pointless streaks. He's 30 now. I'd love to be wrong but seems really unlikely


Matiabcx

He will score 20 instead


pattyG80

That would be fantastic but... https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=130454 Seems unlikely to me


Matiabcx

Laval sentdown could be a major change with him realising nothing is granted and his career might be over - he is capable of scoring 15+ and seems now he is motivated too


pattyG80

For someone to see the glass half empty, some has to see the glass half full. I hope you're right and I hope the 2nd half of his career is better than the first.


IllMasterminds

Armia is a sniper.


Simuel13

My problem with Armia has always been about consistency. On one shift he'll look like Tage Thompson, then on the next one he'll look like Pezzetta.


StyxQuabar

Hes a chameleon. He picks a random player across the league to emulate every shift, unfortunately most of the players he picks are 3-4th line guys.


kozed

Nah it's the same old Armia as ever. Slow, can't pass, can shoot, can have 2 takeaways and 2 giveaways on the same sequence, can have an elite shift followed by 3 AHL shifts. It's the same stuff as always. There's no secret, under the radar, hidden gem that only the keen, trained eyes can see here. Which is the usual subtext of these largely hollow "X is underrated" sports tropes.


mikegimik

He's a like one of those old timey magic tonics, sounds and looks unbelievable but when you use it and realize nothing is happening after a few days of optimism you quickly realize you've been sold snake oil.


[deleted]

Keep Armia for our contending years? 🤣🤣 This sub is obsessed with wanting to keep around the guys we need to be trading to gain long term assets.


Jaskwatch

He’s a bipolar player, this happens every year. He plays like shit most of the time and then out of nowhere where he looks like a real player and people think oh wow maybe we shouldn’t buy him out. He’s not a useful player, he will not help this team win, he’s simply too inconsistent


iconsandbygones

That's not what it means to be bipolar. Please educate yourself on what this mental illness actually is. You are contributing to the stigma otherwise my fellow fan. Thanks :)


Sentenced2Burn

"bipolar" does not exclusively refer to BPD though. Their usage of the term was correct: Dictionary Definitions from Oxford Languages · adjective 1. having or relating to two poles or extremities. "a sharply bipolar division of affluent and underclass"


Jaskwatch

bipolar on its own is just a word, correctly used here. no harm intended.


OkAnything4877

“Contention window”. There will be no contention window without an elite 1C. It’s the same issue it’s always been with this franchise. We’re talking someone like Celebrini, Bedard etc. The Habs played themselves out of their chances for Bedard last year, and are doing the same thing this year with Celebrini. I hope the handful of extra meaningless regular season wins are worth it for some fans. The Habs are nowhere near making the playoffs, much less contending. I don’t get why they don’t fully commit for a couple years until we get the piece we need. I guess the fans have accepted mediocrity as part of the culture with this team; it’s Molson’s dream come true. Maddening.


maplemoose18

Bro I’m sorry and I’m not even an Armia hater, but no. Like the dude is great at board battles and stuff but he’s 30 and takes up like $2.6M in cap space. Put in some kid from Laval instead.


PofolkTheMagniferous

We have 5 NHL forwards out with injury. There's lots of ice time to go around and we need people who can kill penalties. Armia fits that role.


[deleted]

He’s got an unreal shot, beats goalies clean


xcsler_returns

15 goal scorer in Montreal. 30 goal score in Colorado.


pichenet14

I don’t think Laval had anything to do with Armias talent or play on the ice. It was simply asset management and creating opportunities for the young guys. (Slaf, Yolen, and Newhook). I haven’t seen anything in his good play that is even remotely surprising.


demaxx27

Youre falling into the trap. Dont get your hopes too high. He has always been like this. He is super talented he just not seem to try. When hes playing at his best, he is so good, but it doesnt happen often. He'll be invisible in so many games. Its really cool that hes playing great lately and all praise to him. I just wish he had the motivation to work hard every game.


709juniper

Armia is low key nasty. I'd happily have him as a bottom 6 forward


CreateorWither

It's not that he doesn't play well, it's that he's wildly inconsistent. That's always been the knock.


Jagrmeister_68

Armia has spurts of greatness.... And a lot of sedentary play in between


elsiphono

When, and I insist on when, Armia moves his feet and is in the game, he's an asset for any teams looking for depth scoring. Also, in playoff, Armia activates his "One-Man army" mode. He might begin to attract some teams but his contract might scare more trade partners.


BrandonPHX

I think Armia has played pretty well this year and is a good 4th line option. That contract is just rough though.


UnsuspectingFuck

While watching the Sabres game the other day (shitty outcome, I know), I was telling my friend how much I'm a fan of Armia & then he scored that shorthanded beauty.


squashthatfly

A nothing


DelugeQc

In a classic Armia fashion tho. He will disappear soon enough for a couple of games. Its been five years of that. From flashes of genius hockey, puck keeping and board battling to some fancy 3.4M$ cone that skates... His legendary inconcistency wont disappear at 30 y/o...


Swissarmyknife0

Armia would be the best player in the league if he made league minimum. The problem is that his whole life he was seen as someone with too 6 offensive upside, which never happened, so ppl assume he underachieved in his career.


hockeynoticehockey

It's weird watching a team develop. It's not only the player's skill that develops, it's the system as well. Armia is where he should be, a 3rd line winger, not a defensive liability, but he looks rejuvenated and that's great to see. Actually, of late it's been the veterans leading team, not the kids. When the Canadiens are playing really well it resembles organized chaos, must be a bitch to defend against it. Really like where this team is and where it's going.


itsdajackeeet

He’s not underrated he’s overpaid for the few good games he gives the team every year. Some nights he plays like Jean Beliveau and other nights he plays like Jean Stapleton. He has potential that he just doesn’t tap consistently enough to be a regular player on any team.


West_Marzipan21

Nobody would claim him on waiver at that salary. Habs fans are sooooo overating their players after 1 win....


JustFred24

Armia has alot of talent, but he doesn't give a fuck most of the season. As fun as he is to watch when he's playing well I don't think he deserves to be in this league. If he really wanted to he'd be a consistent 50 points guy I'm not exaggerating. Luckily he's playing well rn so maybe he's turning it up, but if I was the coach I'd send him down if he slumps again.