Doug Armstrong’s long tenure as general manager of the St. Louis Blues is in its final stretch.
In a decision that was first announced in June 2024, Armstrong will hand over GM duties to Alexander Steen this summer while maintaining his role as the club’s president of hockey operations.
“What I told the players right after the trade deadline is, for all intents and purposes that Alex is the GM as far as you’re concerned now. There are no more trades, there are no more waivers (this season),” Armstrong told the media recently. “Now Alex has to put his stamp on the team in exit meetings and (set) his expectations.”
Armstrong, 61, has been the Blues’ general manager since 2010, guiding the franchise to its first Stanley Cup championship in 2019. He also won the General Manager of the Year in 2012 and made the playoffs on 10 occasions.
Steen, 42, spent 12 years with the Blues as a player and was part of their championship team before retiring in 2020 due to back issues. Steen has been a part of the Blues’ front office since 2023 and will now take over as the general manager.
“I think Alex is hungry. He’s ready,” Armstrong said. “A new leadership voice at that level is going to be great for the franchise.”
Armstrong said he and Steen will share duties over his final few months on the job, including this year’s NHL Draft, taking place June 27-28 in Los Angeles.
St. Louis (37-33-12) finished four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference this season. They currently own three first-round draft picks.
“Moving around the draft, picking the players, and if players are involved in any trades around the draft — I don’t know who has final say, but we’ll work together — if there are guys traded at the draft, it will be [Alex’s] call with my guidance,” Armstrong said. “If we didn’t have [first-round picks] this year, we could probably expedite this (transition) a little bit, but we do have three — and we’re not going to (expedite it) because this is a massive two months for the St. Louis Blues.”
Forwards Dylan Holloway and Jonatan Berggren as well as defenceman Matthew Kessel are all restricted free agents this summer while defenceman Justin Holl and forward Oskar Sundqvist are both unrestricted free agents.
Armstrong also stepped down from his role as general manager of Team Canada following a silver-medal performance at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
