He started the campaign in the American League and will nevertheless conclude it among the Habs’ top scorers. Joel Armia is the Montreal Canadiens candidate for the Bill Masterton Trophy.
This honor recognizes the NHL player who has demonstrated the most perseverance, sportsmanship and commitment to hockey. Quebecer Kristopher Letang, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, won it last year. The 2024 winner will be revealed next June.
One candidate per team is determined following a vote by print journalists who are members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA).
In Montreal, Armia was appointed after receiving five first place votes out of a possible 13. He topped defensemen David Savard and Mike Matheson.
“It’s a great example of perseverance in the face of obstacles,” said Martin St-Louis, after his post-match press briefing on Thursday. It’s good for our young people to see it going, and it’s also good for our veterans. It is a success. »
Of the current CH team, the Finn is certainly the player who has progressed the most on a personal level in 2023-2024.
The 30-year-old forward had an ordinary training camp, at best, to the point of being placed on waivers and then being transferred to the Laval Rocket before the Canadiens’ inaugural match.
It was a hard blow for this veteran who was entering the third year of a four-year contract earning him an average salary of 3.4 million. He was also coming off two difficult seasons, cut short by injuries, during which he scored only 13 goals and amassed 28 points in 103 games.
No matter, Armia rolled up his sleeves and accumulated 9 points in 8 games in Laval, where he received nothing but praise from his coaches and teammates. At the end of November, he was recalled to Montreal for good.
It was in January, however, that he seemed to find momentum he hadn’t had in years. CH fans were well aware of the defensive skills of this big attacker, but his offensive flashes, sometimes brilliant, were so rare that we no longer expected much from him.
The number 40, however, began to display a surprising regularity which made his trainer Martin St-Louis say he was “rebuilding”. Armia himself later revealed that he had called upon the services of Jean-François Ménard, the team’s mental performance coach, to help him cope with the ups and downs of a season.
To journalists, he admitted to having long been haunted by the fear of making mistakes on the ice. “This aspect of the game has always been my biggest weakness,” he said in March. I always dwelled too much on the mistakes I made. We’re never going to have a perfect game every night. It’s something important that I finally figured out, but it took me a while, and I’m still working on it. »
I was often like that, and not necessarily after a bad match, he continued. It could be after each presence. It ends up adding up and it can have a big impact on your game. When I make mistakes, I try to tell myself that it’s just one game and then there will be another presence, and then another match. It’s not a single play that will decide the rest of my match. I no longer dwell on the mistakes I make on the ice because everyone makes them.
Joel Armia last March
St-Louis tipped its hat to him. “Everything always starts with the player. We can help him as much as we want, especially here with the group that Kent and Gorts [Kent Hughes et Jeff Gorton] have formed. But he took charge and rebuilt himself. That’s the kind of thing a guy who loves hockey does. »
This renewed confidence was reflected on the scoresheet. He has scored 16 goals in 59 games so far, matching his career high set in 2019-20. This production places him provisionally third in his club, tied with Juraj Slafkovsky, behind Nick Suzuki (32) and Cole Caufield (22). He has also become a shorthanded power.
It is therefore this perseverance which is saluted today.