The St. Louis Blues have publicly shared their succession plans and announced two major front-office moves during a Thursday morning press conference. The team announced GM Doug Armstrong’s three-year contract extension, securing his position through the 2028-2029 season. Following that, Alexander Steen has been named special assistant to the GM and will become the club’s 12th GM in 2026-2027.
Armstrong, 59 has been the GM of the Blues for 15 seasons. He won the NHL’s General Manager of the Year Award back in 2012 and has led the team to three Central Division titles. The team has also made the postseason for 10 out of his 14 seasons and won their first Stanley Cup in 2019. Armstrong has hit many milestones in his career as GM including managing 1000 games with the Blues and ranking 10th all-time in regular season wins at 811. Armstrong was also named as the GM for Team Canada at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games
Steen on the other hand has been working with the Blues as a European development consultant. The 40-year-old has helped the Blues evaluate the development of prospects playing in Europe and also served in an advisory role for Team Sweden during the 2024 World Junior Championships.
Steen played in the NHL for 15 seasons, appearing in 1018 regular season games. He was traded to St. Louis from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008 and has gone on to become a franchise icon. He ranks fourth all-time with the Blues in games played and ranks tenth in goals, sixth in assists, and sixth in points. Steen was also the assistant captain for 10 seasons and was on the 2019 Stanley Cup-winning roster. He also represented Sweden during many international tournaments such as the 2014 Winter Olympics. Steen officially retired after the 2019-2020 season.
Blues Looking To Bounce Back Next Season
Armstrong has made it clear he has every intention of getting his team back into the postseason. The Blues have missed the playoffs for a second straight season, and a retool is currently in the works.
The Blues will have around $16 million in cap space this summer and nine picks in the 2024 NHL Draft. It’s unknown if they’ll be active in free agency or the trade market, but it’s a possibility.
The team has a solid core centered around young players like Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas. Their goaltending situation is also solid as Jordan Binnington had quite the bounce back this season.
However, changes will still need to be made if the Blues are serious about playoff contention. In Armstrong’s final years as GM, he must allow his replacement in Steen to learn the ways to be an effective GM in this league. The Blues must pick a solid direction to follow instead of being stuck in the middle. It allows for easier projection of player transactions and provides an opportunity to develop a long-term plan for the future.
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