Joel Armia is one step closer to returning to the game. Which player will he bring in when he’s ready to return? Does this mean Juraj Slafkovsky’s days in Montreal are numbered?

Renaud Lavoie answers all these questions in his column “La mise en check” on the show JiCTuesday, on TVA Sports. See it in the video above.

“This is a case that absolutely needs to be monitored. The problem is this: the Canadians can’t keep six defenders just to keep Slafkovsky in Montreal. I doubt we’re putting Michael Pezzetta on waivers because of the possibility of losing him. The only forward you can send to the American League is Slafkovsky. He knows he has to improve his game to find a way to stay in the lineup. Could he land in Laval? Nobody says it won’t happen. On the other hand, I don’t think it would be a long stay,” he said.

“If there are no injuries by the time Joel Armia returns in a week or two, what decision will Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes make? Important decisions have to be made and they will affect someone. Check out this extremely fascinating file. We will see. But by then there will be a lot of water flowing under the bridges,” added Renaud Lavoie.

His column also mentions the change from Slafkovsky, who trained on Tuesday with a fully taped paddle, which he has had little use of previously. The topic caused a stir in the organization.

“Slafkovsky told me that without exception everyone on the team spoke to him about it. It’s been a topic of conversation since the start of the season.”