Five free agent right wingers the Colorado Avalanche can realistically afford — and what they would cost

Joel Armia (RW/LW)

Background

Joel Armia, a native of Pori, Finland, is a veteran NHLer who was drafted 16th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft out of Ässät Pori of the Finnish Elite League. "Army" has played in parts of 11 seasons between the Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, and Montréal Canadiens. He was an integral component of Montréal's underdog trip to the 2020-21 Stanley Cup Finals; he was tied for fifth on the team in playoff scoring with eight points in 21 games. His playoff performance, as a depth winger, was better than many of the Habs' top players, namely Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Tatar, and fellow Finn Artturi Lehkonen.

Upside

Armia is known for his defense prowess and his reliability on both sides of the ice. He has also been one of the Canadiens' best penalty killers, and his overall dedication to the sport of hockey — and his willingness to play an unglamorous, scrappy style of hockey — was recognized in 2024 when he was Montréal's team candidate for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

Armia recently turned 32, but his offensive production remains consistent, albeit unremarkable. Throughout his career, he has averaged about 0.35 points per game, which is low, but he falls into the same category as the aforementioned Brock McGinn: sought after for the intangibles he can offer an already offensively talented team.

Risks

The only notable risk to signing Joel Armia is his lengthy list of prior injuries, which includes two concussions — one in the SM-liiga and one in the NHL. Armia has sustained twelve different injuries in his NHL career: one concussion, two LBIs, three undisclosed, and six UBIs. It's an occupational hazard for a player like him.

Role

Armia and O'Connor would likely round out the right side in the Avs' bottom-six, with both players having a skillset strong enough to play either line. His game is comparable to that of Charlie Coyle, even though he doesn't contribute as much offensively, so he'd be a complimentary piece; Armia would shore up that third line, alongside Ross Colton, and he would certainly spend time on one of Colorado's penalty kill units, too.

Cost

There is a pay decrease in Armia's future, but, if the term is right — a three-year deal would make sense — he'd earn roughly $2mil AAV, about $1.5mil AAV less than he made in each of the last four seasons in Montréal.

While that's not an unreasonably large salary cap hit, it is currently more than the Avs have available. Accordingly — and as part of a larger plan to free up space for another move, either before the season or at the deadline — the Avs may have to trade Samuel Girard and his $5mil AAV contract, despite it being, comparatively, a team-friendly deal.