The St. Louis Blues announced a succession plan that features Doug Armstrong signing an extension to remain the President of Hockey Operations through 2028-29, while Alexander Steen will take over as the club’s general manager in 2026. The two will work together through at least the 2028-29 season, unless Armstrong decides to not remain with the club through the remainder of his extension or ownership goes in a different direction.
There’s zero doubt that the Blues are right to look ahead when it comes to the top of their front office. Owner Tom Stillman was hesitant to make the change at first, “I believe we have the best general manager in the league so the idea of let’s change and get a different one, at first, I was resistant to that, but we just talked and talked over time and I just came to see the value in bringing in a new voice and a new approach, a new face, a new way of doing things at some point.” Let’s get into why it’s a smart move.
Steen Earned This Opportunity
The Blues brought Steen back into the organization in the summer of 2023. He joined as a European Player Development Consultant. The club clearly values his input after taking three European players in the first round of the 2023 Draft. All of the three prospects taken in the 2023 Draft’s first round (Dalibor Dvorsky, Theo Lindstein, Otto Stenberg) played in Sweden at some point. They’ve placed an emphasis on adding more European talent in drafts since expanding their scouting staff overseas and Steen is a part of that.
Steen brings a lot to the organization and is a smart hockey mind. He played over 1,000 games in the NHL, including 765 in St. Louis. He’s got the respect of players and coaches, which is a fantastic thing to have. He has the next two seasons to learn even more from Armstrong as well. Armstrong respects Steen quite a bit, “I just kept coming back to him, coming back to him. When I brought it up to Mr. Stillman, he said, ‘He doesn’t have any experience.’ If you take someone you truly believe in, the experience will come. Let’s not lose the right person for the wrong reason.”
This is great for Steen overall. He was likely going to get a shot as a general manager whether it was in St. Louis or not. I think he’ll do a great job and he deserves plenty of input alongside Armstrong when the 2026-27 season begins.
Armstrong Remains a Valuable Part of the Franchise
Stillman still believes in Armstrong as a valuable part of the franchise, and he’s correct to think it. They couldn’t throw Steen into the role right away without learning more under him. Smart organizations make these types of moves. Organizations that don’t win rush into these types of decisions, and some may believe that the Blues should’ve forced Armstrong out, but that’s not the right thing to do at this point.
Related: St. Louis Blues Announce GM Succession Plan From Armstrong to Steen
Armstrong hasn’t been great over the past few years, but he isn’t walking away from the problems he created, which I do respect. There’s still work to be done this summer and he has to be smart about his approach. He’s the point man through the 2028-29 season, but having another close voice can change the way he approaches things. I know that Blues fans aren’t massive fans of him right now, but he’s done a lot for this franchise and still deserves a small leash to solve the problems he’s created.
