RWJC Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 (edited) Blues Extend Doug Armstrong, Promote Alexander Steen June 13th, 2024 at 10:08am CST • By Josh Erickson The Blues have shored up the future of their hockey operations department, keeping general manager Doug Armstrong in the organization past the expiration of his current deal in 2026. He’s signed a three-year extension to serve as president of hockey operations through the 2028-29 season, while longtime player Alexander Steen will replace Armstrong as GM for 2026-27 and beyond. Steen, who spent this season with the Blues as a team consultant and European development coach, has been promoted to special assistant to the GM for the next two seasons. St. Louis also announced that Tim Taylor, their director of player personnel, has been promoted to assistant GM. Taylor has served in the role for the past two seasons after initially joining the organization as their director of player development in 2011. Armstrong, 59, will conclude his run as Blues GM at 16 seasons when all is said and done. He’s guided the Blues to 10 playoff appearances in his 14 seasons at the helm thus far, and his roster construction yielded the club’s only Stanley Cup championship in 2019. One of the key veteran members of that Cup-winning team was Steen, who was effective in a checking role and had five points in 26 postseason games. A Stanley Cup ring was a spectacular way to bookend a lengthy and fruitful career in St. Louis, where Steen had 195 goals and 496 points in 765 games and was one of the better defensive wingers in the game in his prime in the mid-2010s. Armstrong wasn’t the GM who acquired Steen via trade from the Maple Leafs in 2008 – that was Larry Pleau – but he did acquire most of the core. Just one summer before winning it all, he swung a blockbuster trade with the Sabres to acquire center Ryan O’Reilly, who broke out for a career-high 77 points and took home the Selke and Conn Smythe trophies in his first year under the Gateway Arch. Needless to say, they’re big shoes for Steen to fill as he enters a top-level executive role six years after retiring as a player in 2020. While unusual, it’s not surprising for them to announce a clear, long-term succession plan to aid in his development as a manager while keeping a sense of stability in the organization while he and Armstrong work to retool a roster currently mired in mediocrity. As for Taylor – per the team, his responsibilities won’t change much. His duties as AGM will still revolve around managing day-to-day player personnel activities. https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/06/blues-extend-doug-armstrong-promote-alexander-steen.html#ref=home Edited June 13 by RWJC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeanSeanBean Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 Never liked Steen as a player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herberts Vasiljevs Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 (edited) 1 hour ago, MeanSeanBean said: Never liked Steen as a player. Really? He is one of my absolute favourites of all time! He was kind of a prick out there, but was absolutely relentless and had good skill to go with it. I remember being so happy to see him lift the cup with St. Louis. Edited June 13 by Herberts Vasiljevs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeanSeanBean Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 1 hour ago, Herberts Vasiljevs said: Really? He is one of my absolute favourites of all time! He was kind of a prick out there, but was absolutely relentless and had good skill to go with it. I remember being so happy to see him lift the cup with St. Louis. he terrorized the Canucks, so I probably grrw to dislike him 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herberts Vasiljevs Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 1 hour ago, MeanSeanBean said: he terrorized the Canucks, so I probably grrw to dislike him I forgot all about that! Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeanSeanBean Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 1 hour ago, Herberts Vasiljevs said: I forgot all about that! Lol. Probably like a Burrows or a Ruutu. Guys are a pain in the ass with a punch able face, but if they are on your team likely your favorite player. In my head I just remember hating playing against him 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tas Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 interesting to telegraph your succession plan 2 years out, don't see that very often in this league of constant churn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJCF96 Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 On 6/13/2024 at 12:02 PM, MeanSeanBean said: he terrorized the Canucks, so I probably grrw to dislike him At the end of the day, the 2 times we played him in the playoffs, we manage to eliminate him. He had no goals in both series against us, so I am saying he can't terrorize us when it matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.