Joel Armia, finalist for the Bill Masterston Trophy?

If I’d told you back in November that Joel Armia was going to have 14 goals with eight games to go, you’d probably have called me crazy.

And rightly so.

The Habs organization sent him a message when they sent him to Laval because he wasn’t giving enough on the ice and his attitude wasn’t great… And since he was recalled from the Rocket, the Finn has been one of the good offensive players.

Armia is successful because he’s started to play to his strengths again. He uses his size and his hands to protect the puck, he goes to the corners and he wins his battles because he’s big and because he’s strong, and the results are there.

He’s now the Habs’ 4th leading scorer… And his transformation allows the excellent Renaud Lavoie (BPM Sports ) to believe that the player could be among the finalists for the Bill-Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the player who has demonstrated “the most quality of perseverance and team spirit”:

Everyone agrees that he’s a transformed guy. He plays great hockey. – Renaud Lavoie

Maybe the Habs should have made the decision to send him to Laval sooner, but at least we can see how good it made the player feel: