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Winnipeg Jets: Why Trading Joel Armia Was A Costly Mistake

By Dylan Paré

MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 13: Joel Armia #40 of the Montreal Canadiens skates against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on October 13, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in a shootout. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 13: Joel Armia #40 of the Montreal Canadiens skates against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on October 13, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in a shootout. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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WINNIPEG, MB – MAY 20: Joel Armia #40 of the Winnipeg Jets hits the ice prior to puck drop against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 20, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB – MAY 20: Joel Armia #40 of the Winnipeg Jets hits the ice prior to puck drop against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 20, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Joel Armia, the price the Winnipeg Jets paid for something that didn’t even work out…

Winnipeg shipped Steve Mason‘s big contract over to Montreal. (This was only for them to buy it out about a day later). Obviously it came with a cost, fourth and seventh round picks, plus our best fourth liner, Joel Armia.

Armia came over to the Winnipeg Jets in February of 2015 (Wow, it’s been a long time…) as an asset in the trade sending disgruntled Evander Kane to Buffalo. Armia was actually a first round pick in the same draft as Mark Schiefele. He didn’t turn out the way Mark did, but the kid really made a big difference.

Joel Armia was able to score 29 points on our fourth line, alongside Andrew Copp and Matt Hendricks. Copp reeled in 28 points, coming close behind Armia, who had 29 to his name. This helped Winnipeg tremendously. It allowed Paul Maurice to roll the lines, keep everyone fresh, and have no weak links.

Now, look at our fourth line. Neither of Nic Petan and Brendan Lemieux have more than one point. Jack Roslovic can’t do anything, which isn’t his fault whatsoever. He has nobody around him that can make anything happen. Winnipeg has recently been forced to scramble up the bottom six to spread out the talent. They moved Mathieu Perreault down to the fourth line, promoted Copp to the left wing on the third line, and finally gave Mason Appleton his first taste of the NHL.

All of these moves wouldn’t have to happen if Armia was still a Jet. He can make players around him better, an example being Andrew Copp last season. Copp’s totals haven’t transferred over to look like last seasons, giving us yet another example of why we’re missing him.

So reviewing the trade now, what did we really get out of it? We got cap room for a guy that was pickpocketed from us in free agency by Vegas. That’s literally all that we received, along with a no-name, former sixth round pick named Simon Bourque.

Next. Will Patrik Laine score 60+ goals?. dark

Sure, I guess you could say we got some cap room for this year’s deadline, but it definitely was not worth the price of Joel Armia. Chevy, you’ve done a great job, but this is one of those deals you hope to forget.

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