The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the midst of a full-scale search for their next general manager after dismissing Brad Treliving last week. Their list of candidates is growing quickly but isn’t expected to include current St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong. The Blues have no plans to allow Armstrong to interview for Toronto’s GM vacancy per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Armstrong is set to become St. Louis’ President of Hockey Operations while Alexander Steen steps into the GM role on July 1st. Pagnotta’s report was echoed by Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast.
It seems St. Louis has no interest in letting Armstrong walk after 16 years in the Blues’ GM chair. That tenure has spanned some transformative years in Blues franchise history. Armstrong took over a squad with only one playoff appearance in their last five seasons. With quick and crafty moves, such as bringing in a new goalie tandem in Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott, Armstrong pushed St. Louis to the Central Division championship in just his second season. That postseason appearance kicked off six consecutive playoff berths for the Blues. They were briefly interrupted with a miss in 2018 but returned in full force with a Cinderella-story Stanley Cup win in 2019.
Along the way, Armstrong made clear his willingness to put the team’s overall performance above any one player. He parted ways with all four captains under his reign, including moving on from Alex Pietrangelo just one season after he became the first Blue to lift the Stanley Cup. The results of those changes have ebbed-and-flowed, with St. Louis now boasting a strong prospect pool and only one playoff berth in the last three seasons.
In the midst of a rebuild, St. Louis will also turn over their top management position. Steen joined the Blues’ management staff as a team consultant and development coach in 2023. He was promoted to a ‘Special Assistant to the GM’ role in 2024 and is now preparing to take one more step this summer. His path has been largely untraditional – but also well-supported by his leadership role during 13 seasons as a Blues player, and his close connection with Armstrong. Those factors have helped St. Louis hone Steen into a manager capable of filling their top chair, while Armstrong will still have reign over hockey ops decisions. The tandem between Armstrong and Steen has grown strong and St. Louis will ensure it sticks even through their shifting roles.
Not even a GM opening in Armstrong’s home province will be enough to knock the Blues’ plan off-course. Armstrong has filled a management position in the Midwest since 1992 and has taken steps to reduce his workload since managing Team Canada to a Silver Medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Unless St. Louis changes their mind about supports for an upcoming rookie-GM, Armstrong will continue on with the city where he won his latest Stanley Cup. That will give him a chance to see out many top Blues prospects, including defenseman Adam Jiricek and whoever the club reels in with a top pick in 2026.
Let me manage for a year :D
The Toronto front office is run like a government, The team has at least 6 assistant GMs, That’s just one example, It’s gridlock, And, Alot bureaucracy, Everybody in the league knows it. The Maple Leafs are a team alot of players, And executive types don’t want to be involved with.
The title makes it sound like he’s busy – “no, sorry Leafs, I’m too busy to interview that day”.
I’d say wait a year on filling the President of hockey operations and Army will run the Leafs. I predicted it a year and a half ago. And I stand by that prediction. It makes too much sense.