Joel Armia Poised to Complete a Surprise Canadiens Reunion With the LA Kings

With the Los Angeles Kings, the forward could form a very special line alongside his former teammates from the Montreal organization.

On June 30, 2018, Marc Bergevin completed a trade with the Winnipeg Jets, acquiring forward Joel Armia, goaltender Steve Mason, a 7th-round pick in 2019 (which became Kieran Ruscheinski), and a 4th-round pick in 2020 (which became Jack Smith).

In return, he agreed to trade defenseman Simon Bourque. A native of Longueuil, Bourque ultimately never played a game in the NHL.

The reality behind that trade was that the Montreal Canadiens were taking on Steve Mason's contract, which carried an annual cap hit of $4,100,000 until the summer of 2019. Mason was quickly bought out by the organization immediately after the trade.

Joel Armia ultimately turned out to be a solid acquisition, playing 406 games with the Canadiens. While he wasn't a flashy player and experienced some difficult stretches, Armia was a good teammate and played an important role on the penalty kill.

On July 1st, Joel Armia chose to test free agency and, like his former teammate Corey Perry, signed a contract with the Los Angeles Kings. The deal pays him $2,500,000 annually through the summer of 2027.

According to Daily Faceoff's projected lines, Armia and Perry are slated to skate alongside Alex Turcotte, while Phillip Danault will center a line with Warren Foegele and Trevor Moore.

However, it's not out of the question that Perry and Armia could eventually be reunited on a line of former Canadiens players alongside Danault.

Los Angeles also features a fourth former Hab: veteran defenseman Joel Edmundson. There will be plenty of familiar faces when they face Martin St. Louis' squad next season!