Joel Armia couldn’t wait until Friday 3:01 p.m., because that was going to mean he wasn’t going to leave.
“I hate this day,” he admitted Monday noon at the Brossard training center, regarding the trade deadline. I love being here, I love how the team plays, I love my teammates. I’ve been traded twice before, so you never know what’s going to happen. It’s not my favorite day…”
The Finnish forward has been here since June 2018, when the Winnipeg Jets traded him to the Canadiens along with a contract they wanted to get rid of, that of goaltender Steve Mason. At the time of obtaining him, Montreal management hoped to revive a player who had been a first round choice of the Buffalo Sabers in the 2011 draft.
Is this relaunch successful? We could debate that, especially since Armia had to take an eight-game detour to Laval earlier this season. But with his current haul of 11 goals this season, his sixth with the Canadian, here he is approaching his career high in this regard, he who was able to score 16 times during the shortened 2019-2020 season.
“He is in a good state of mind,” noted coach Martin St-Louis about him. It starts from there. He has progressed in this area, and it shows in everything he does. »
It is no coincidence that we often bring up the psychological side of things for the Canadian when it comes to discussing Joel Armia. The main person admitted it during a frank discussion on Monday: he had to clean up his head. On this subject, he had a few good conversations with Jean-François Ménard, mental performance coach for the Canadian.
Armia, by his own admission, had a tendency to collapse following the slightest mistake on the ice.
This aspect of the game has always been my biggest weakness… I always dwelled too much on the mistakes I made. We’re never going to have a perfect game every night, that’s something important that I came to understand, but it took me a while, and I continue to work on it.
Joel Armia
“I was like that a lot, and not necessarily after a bad match; it could be after each presence. It ends up adding up, and it can have a big impact on your game. So I try… when I make mistakes, I try to tell myself that it’s just one game, and then there’s will have another appearance, 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. »
At 30 years old, and with one more year of contract to run, it’s this Joel Armia who is trying to make his place in this league, with this team. The one who keeps his head held high, the one who sees sunshine instead of seeing clouds, the one who has seen the light and who wants to continue to see it, as often as possible.
It’s a long road, and he’s aware of that.
“I know I’m a good player and I’m confident in my skills. I was too critical of myself and it slowed me down, so I’m trying to work on that…hopefully being a new version of me! »
Primeau against the Blue Jackets
PHOTO GENE J. PUSKAR, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Goaltender Cayden Primeau
It’s Cayden Primeau who will be in front of the net Tuesday evening at the Bell Center, while the Columbus Blue Jackets will land here. Martin St-Louis had good words about him Monday in Brossard. “Cayden has taken a step forward this season,” said the Montreal coach. It wasn’t easy for the three goalkeepers, maybe even more so for Jake [Allen]for whom it was difficult to gain something […], but we’re happy to see where Cayden is with his game right now. »
Slafkovsky still absent, Durandeau acquired
Juraj Slafkovsky had to miss Monday’s practice to undergo treatment. For the young striker, this is a third consecutive absence from training. Note also that the Canadian announced a minor league transaction, obtaining forward Arnaud Durandean from the New Jersey Devils organization, in return for another forward, Nathan Légaré. Durandeau will be eligible to take part in the American League playoffs if the Laval Rocket qualifies.