Armstrong says he's 'aged out' as GM for Team Canada

MANALAPAN, Fla. -- Doug Armstrong is in a transition period.

He's stepping down as general manager of Team Canada after winning the silver medal at the Olympics in Milan last month, and he's in his final months as GM of the St. Louis Blues, making this his final appearance at the NHL GM meetings.

The 61-year-old said he has "aged out" of being GM of Team Canada. He loved the job and called it "the greatest experience." But it came with a lot of pressure, and it cost him a lot of time with his wife, Kelly.

"Quite honestly, she's given enough," Armstrong said. "I've got to start paying it back to her, and I can't do this. It's not fair to her, quite honestly, more than anybody."

Armstrong said he would not be involved in selecting his successor with Team Canada. He will be available if the next GM seeks advice the way he once sought advice from his predecessor, Steve Yzerman. Otherwise, he will stay out of the way.

"If the next person calls me, I'll pick up the phone, but he's got to call me," he said. "I'm not going to try to interject, because I know what the job is, and everyone's going to have their own rhythm on how they want to do it. If I could ever support that person, I will, but I'm not expecting it."

Amstrong will turn over the Blues GM job on July 1 to Alexander Steen, who is currently special assistant to the GM. He has a three-year contract to continue as president of hockey operations.

The Blues traded captain Brayden Schenn to the New York Islanders and defenseman Justin Faulk to the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6, when they were 10 points behind the Seattle Kraken, who held the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

After a 3-2 overtime win at the San Jose Sharks that night, they traveled to Anaheim and held a practice the next day. Armstrong, Steen and coach Jim Montgomery met with the players.

"We traded our captain," Armstrong said. "We traded our assistant captain. We traded the nucleus of our leadership group. And I believe, if you don't address it, it's the elephant in the room. Everyone's going to walk on eggshells around that. So, we talked about that. We talked about what we wanted to try to accomplish for the rest of the year. And I also talked about, 'This is Alex's group now.' …

"I said, 'From your perspective as athletes, he's your manager.' Because there's no more trades to make. There are no more waivers. He now needs to talk to you. He has to have his exit meetings as the next manager. He needs to set the table for what we're doing now and in the future."

Armstrong will still lead St. Louis for the 2026 NHL Draft.

"If we didn't have a first- or second-round pick, I could go off into the sunset tomorrow," Armstrong said. "But we have three first-round picks, and we have three third-round picks, and we put ourselves in the position where this has to be a massive draft for us.  … I owe that to the Blues to make sure that I see that one through."

Armstrong said Steen with have "a massive say" if the Blues make trades for players, and director of amateur scouting Tony Feltrin will have "the massive say" when they select prospects. But Armstrong will sit in the big chair one last time with Steen at his side.

"I have that experience," Armstrong said. "I have that knowledge. I have that working relationship with the amateur scouts. … (Steen is) going to be right beside me, but ultimately, I'll make that decision, because that's my job right now. But after that draft, then becomes his job, and I'm taking the role of president.

"I don't even know what that job is, because I've been fortunate enough to do both. I don't know how I'm going to serve him, but my job is to serve him moving forward."

Armstrong was GM of the Dallas Stars from 2002-08, and he has been GM of the Blues since 2010, winning the Stanley Cup in 2019.

He said he has mixed emotions about his final appearance at the NHL GM meetings, where the GMs discuss the nuances of the game, make rule-change recommendations and spend time with each other.

"I do believe that we are just sort of a pebble of sand on the beach," he said. "Like, our time will come and go. All of our time will come and go. But while we're here, we need to make this game the best we can make it, and I enjoy the debate. I enjoy the learning. … I learn so much from these guys. I'm going to miss that, that learning aspect of it and that dialogue and that camaraderie too.

"We want to win. Every night when we get off that elevator into the press box, we want to beat the guy I'm going to say hi to, but there's only 32 of us that know what the other guy's going through. I'm not saying it's a hard job, but there are nuances that really only someone that's done that job understands."

Is Armstrong sure this is it for him as a GM?

"(The wives) sacrifice a lot, and for me, it's time to pay a little bit back," he said. "I never say never. But my goal is to do the best I can for Alex, the best I can for the Blues and the best I can for her."