By Nathan Moser
The St. Louis Blues’ future at general manager has officially been mapped out for the organization and the fanbase. The team announced that current GM Doug Armstrong, who has been in his role since the 2010-11 NHL season, signed a two-year contract extension and will leave the role in 2026. In addition, former Blues forward Alex Steen will become the new GM starting in 2026 and will be special assistant to Armstrong for the two seasons leading up to that promotion.
It is great to have the future set in stone for any organization. Not having a plan in place can sometimes have a negative effect on a team, but the Blues fans will not have to worry about any of that now. Armstrong deserves credit for being able to stay the GM for as long as he says. It is difficult to win in the league but Armstrong has managed the Blues well and constructed the roster that won the Stanley Cup in 2019.
Steen has already seen how Armstrong operates having been a Blue for so much of his on-ice career. He spent parts of 12 campaigns in St. Louis as a player and racked up 496 points for them, which ranked him sixth all-time in Blues scoring. His 195 goals rank him tenth all-time in goals and his 301 assists put him sixth all-time for the franchise in that category. He is one of the best to ever suit up for the organization and soon he will be helping craft the future of that same club.
The Armstrong-Steen management group has work to get done soon though. Things have not been as positive since the team won the Cup in 2019. Former head coach Craig Berube was fired, and they recently hired Drew Bannister to be the permanent replacement after being interim the rest of 2023-24. What roster moves are going to be made this offseason? Do the Blues try to re-sign any of the possible unrestricted free agents? Time is ticking on that front. The free agency period opens on July 1. Does Kaspari Kapanen, Sammy Blais, and Marco Scandella all leave? There has also been talk about Pavel Buchnevich being someone who could be traded. Does that happen, or does he don the Blues sweater come the fall? Armstrong has the responsibility to teach Steen and help set the roster up for 2026. Both men have plenty of time to get things taken care of before Armstrong leaves the GM position.
The next chapter of the Blues will be written. How successful it will depends on what three men in Armstrong, Steen, and Bannister are able to accomplish. Since winning the Cup in 2019, the Blues have lost a couple first-round series, and the last time they made the postseason was 2021-22. They made it to the second round of the 2022 playoffs but were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champions in the Colorado Avalanche. They have missed the postseason in both 2023 and 2024. Wrapping up the 2023-24 campaign, St. Louis finished in fifth place in the Central Division with a record of 43-33-6 for 92 points. Armstrong, Steen, and the rest of the managerial staff will have some work to do in order to get the roster back in shape to make a run at the postseason again. With the management plan in place, now the only thing left to do is watch what they do and see what results follow.
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