The Montreal Canadiens announced a slew of injuries to kick off the 2022-23 campaign.
Most notably, forward Joel Armia will miss the first one to two weeks of the NHL season with an upper-body injury. He was injured during a game against the Ottawa Senators last week.
Armia, 29, was rumored to be on the trade market during the summer, but ultimately stuck around with the Canadiens. He had 14 points in each of the past two seasons, registering a career-high 30 in 58 games in 2019-20. Armia has dealt with injuries throughout his career, going over the 65-game mark only once when he played in 79 with Winnipeg in 2017-18.
Armia’s injury could allow for Juraj Slafkovsky to make the team’s opening night roster. Slafkovsky, the No. 1 pick in 2022, had an up and down pre-season, but will have opportunities to prove himself in his first full season in North America.
The Canadiens also announced that Emil Heineman, who was set to join the Laval Rocket, will miss the next six weeks with a thumb injury.
Defenseman Mike Matheson, who is expected to be a key piece of Montreal’s blueline, is day-to-day with a lower body injury. Joel Edmundson started skating on Monday, but there is still no timetable for his return from a lower-body injury.
With a battered blueline to start the season, the Canadiens grabbed Johnny Kovacevic off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets. Standing at 6-foot-5, Kovacevic has four games of NHL experience, all with Winnipeg last season. The Canadiens also have youngsters Arber Xhekaj, Jordan Harris and Kaiden Guhle fighting for ice time to kick off the season.
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