The Los Angeles Kings almost completely revamped their fourth line in free agency with the additions of Corey Perry and Joel Armia, who should be on either side of Alex Turcotte this season.
Joel Armia was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2011 NHL Draft and appeared in only NHL game before being traded to the Winnipeg Jets before the 2015-16 season. He would play three seasons with the Jets before the last seven with the Montreal Canadiens.
Outside of the depth Armia brings to the forwards, he will big part of the Los Angeles Kings in this part of their team next season, and that is where we start on why this was a great signing.
Reason to love this signing: He has been excellent at killing penalties
The past two seasons, Armia has had 185 minutes or more in 4-on-5 situations and ranks in the Top 10 in that category among forwards in the NHL. He not only has been on the ice a lot in these situations but been somewhat productive as he has 17 career short-handed goals with five goals in just the past two seasons.
Last season, the LA Kings ranked in the Top 10 in penalty kill percentage at 81.4% and adding Armia should only help improve what was a strength for this team.
Reason to hate this signing: Not much upside in 5-on-5 situations
He certainly will help in the penalty kill situations but doesn't give much on offense in 5-on-5 situations as he has only 103 career goals and 104 career assists in 586 NHL games. The Kings really could have used a proven goal-scorer for this offense and neither Armia or Corey Perry really give them that.
The Kings are probably hoping players like Quinton Byfield, Alex Laferriere, or Alex Turcotte can take that next step to close the scoring gap but Joel Armia is not going to be the fix for them.