The torch has been passed in the front office, as Alexander Steen takes over for Doug Armstrong as General Manager. This has not happened since right before the 2010-11 season, but when looking at the status of the St. Louis Blues, it seems like a similar timeframe.
One of the most important questions to ask is how Armstrong's first season compares to Steen's expectations for the 2026-27 season.
When Armstrong was hired on, the Blues had just wrapped up a non-playoff season in 2009-10. They finished with a record of 40-32-10 for 90 points. In the first season following his promotion from Director of Player Personnel, they did slightly worse at 38-33-11 for 87 points.
Armstrong's first season versus Steen's
Funny enough, Steen was playing for the Blues when the General Manager change occurred from Larry Pleau to Armstrong. As stated above, this team did not get any better, but obviously, in the seasons that followed, things would ramp up over time, only missing the playoffs once following the 2010-11 season until the 2022-23 season.
Steen enters his first go-around as the headman with a similar vibe. This Blues team is under a retool, with an emphasis on using their younger talent to form a new core group. It has already been assembled, and nobody knows the true potential of this group until they go out on the ice.
Armstrong was able to weather the first season, and in the offseason before the playoff sustainability, he brought in Jamie Langenbrunner, Scott Arnott, and Brian Elliott. All three were big parts of that 2011-12 season's success, and it continued for a good while after that.
Steen following same path?
If Steen were to follow the same blueprint, which is possible with a much better free agency class after this upcoming season, then the Blues could be big-time buyers next summer. If the younger core group can get themselves together and play proactive hockey, then bringing in a bigger fish can really push this roster over the top.
Another thing to note is that almost all of this current regime is Armstrong's final moves before handing over the keys. He gassed up and ran this roster through the car wash prior to giving it over to Steen, and now Steen is in a great position to really impress in his first season.
Let's see if he follows the same path as Armstrong, with another year of needed mediocrity, or comes out swinging in 2026-27 with a surprise playoff berth.
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