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Doug Armstrong

Evening Notes: Sullivan, Penguins, Blues

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote about the Pittsburgh Penguins freefall and what it means for head coach Mike Sullivan. Yohe wouldn’t lean one way or the other when it comes to Sullivan’s future but did concede that the Penguins’ current predicament is ripe for a coaching change. However, he doesn’t believe that general manager Kyle Dubas or Penguins ownership expected the team to make the playoffs this season.

Sullivan has been at the helm of the Penguins since late 2015 and has guided the Penguins to two Stanley Cup championships. That being said, the Penguins haven’t been out of the first round of the playoffs since 2018 and have missed the postseason in each of the last two years. Combine that with their horrific 7-12-4 start to this season, and it has people wondering if a coaching change is in order. Yohe casts doubt on that possibility but does add that if things get much worse in Pittsburgh, it could happen.

In other evening notes:

  • TSN’s Darren Dreger spoke on TSN690 radio and mentioned that the Penguins have been heavily scouting the Montreal Canadiens. Dreger wonders if a trade could be brewing between the two sides, adding that nothing is in the works yet, but he does see a potential path to a deal between the two teams. Pittsburgh isn’t in fire sale mode yet, but with so many expiring contracts on the books and the playoffs falling out of reach with each passing game, the Penguins may begin to move players out with an eye toward the future.
  • The St. Louis Blues didn’t expect to make a coaching change until Jim Montgomery became available a few days ago (as per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press). Blues general manager Doug Armstrong spoke to the media today saying that the Blues viewed Montgomery’s free agency as an opportunity to grab a top coach in the NHL and improve the team’s prospects behind the bench. The move certainly came as a shock to many but can’t be that surprising given Montgomery’s coaching experience as well as his deep ties to the Blues organization.

International Notes: Team Canada, Cracknell, Day

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St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong will have his hands full for the first half of the 2024-25 NHL season. Armstrong recently took part in an interview with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun where the two spoke at length about Team Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Faceoff in 2025 and the announcement that teams will need rosters in place by December 2nd, 2024.

The first six players of Canada’s roster were already announced on June 28th, 2024 as Sidney Crosby, Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Connor McDavid, and Brayden Point have already made the team. Canada ices the majority of players in the NHL (41.7% of opening night rosters in 2023-24) which makes Armstrong’s job in scouting that much more difficult in determining the next 17 players and three goaltenders in three months.

LeBrun adds that goaltending is the biggest question mark facing Team Canada as the team no longer has access to Carey Price, Martin Brodeur, or Roberto Luongo. Armstrong isn’t as worried about the goaltending situation for Canada as he said, “The only goalies to win a Stanley Cup over the last decade have been Russian or Canadian. So we’re in pretty good shape if you’re using that as a barometer“.

Other international notes:

  • Journeyman forward Adam Cracknell will take his talent overseas for the first time since the 2020-21 season as Slovakia’s HK Poprad announced a one-year contract for the veteran. Cracknell spent all last season with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights collecting 18 goals and 35 points in 53 games. He has 210 NHL games under his belt with the Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, New York Rangers, and Anaheim Ducks but has not played in an NHL contest since the 2018-19 season.
  • Former top prospect Sean Day is heading overseas as HV71 of the SHL has announced a two-year deal for the defenseman. Day became the fourth player to be granted ’Exceptional Player Status’ by Hockey Canada behind John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, and McDavid but floundered almost immediately upon joining the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads in 2013-14. He was eventually drafted 81st overall by the Rangers in the 2016 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 28th, 2021.

Morning Notes: Blues Offer Sheets, Rossi, Gartner

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The Blues tendered the first successful offer sheet(s) in three years last month when they landed both Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway from the Oilers. Some thought the rich contracts may have been a ploy to snag one while Edmonton matched the other. That wasn’t the case, as Blues general manager Doug Armstrong told Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic that the team “structured it that way in an attempt to get both players.”

“We scouted them,” Armstrong continued. “We’ve watched their development. We thought there was a chance that we could get both when you looked at the Oilers’ contracts coming up, and it ended up working out that way.”

It all indicates Armstrong’s hope to end his tenure as GM by returning the 2019 Stanley Cup winners to championship contention without a total teardown. “We now have double-digit players drafted in the first round over a five-, six-year span,” he said. “Now, they’re not all going to make it, but consistently, you have 70 to 80 percent of those guys make it; they can actually play together for the better part of five, six, seven years. Building something that’s sustainable is what we’re trying to do here. Those two players fit perfectly into that.”

More from around the NHL as training camp nears:

  • Center Marco Rossi’s commitment to a solid sophomore season in the State of Hockey was evidenced last month when he declined to participate for his native Austria in this summer’s qualifying tournament for the 2026 Winter Olympics, instead focusing on starting his pre-season training in Minnesota. The 22-year-old spoke recently to Joe Smith of The Athletic, saying he thinks a 30-goal season is “of course possible” after lighting the lamp 21 times in his rookie year. He’s got his confidence back after demonstrating his floor as a perfectly acceptable top-nine pivot last season – which wasn’t a guarantee for the 2020 ninth-overall pick after complications from COVID-19 cost him virtually all of his post-draft season. That adversity “always makes you stronger mentally,” he said.
  • After a 10-year run as chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee, Lanny McDonald’s tenure in the role will end in June 2025, thanks to term limits. He’ll be succeeded by nine-time 40-goal scorer and 2001 inductee Mike Gartner, as Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun relays. Gartner will enter a chairman-elect role next month to “support transitional matters and be on the search committee for a new president and CEO.” He’ll also preside over the induction of the 2025 class, which will be announced weeks after he takes over as chairman full-time.

West Notes: Oilers, Ceci, Binnington

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The Edmonton Oilers’ decision to let Philip Broberg go and to trade Cody Ceci has opened up a hole in their top four that Josh Wegman of The Score believes should be filled via trade before the NHL trade deadline. This week, the Oilers have been checking in on multiple veteran defensemen who remain free agents, but Wegman believes they will seek a better solution before the playoffs.

Wegman lists Marcus Pettersson, Jakob Chychrun, and Ivan Provorov as potential targets as all three men are pending unrestricted free agents. He also believes that the Oilers could look for a longer-term solution and seek a player with some years left on their contract such as  Mike Matheson, Connor Murphy, or Radko Gudas. The Oilers have been linked to former Oilers Tyson Barrie and Justin Schultz this week, as well as former Bruins defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. While all of those defensemen have had solid NHL careers, they are not great options for a Stanley Cup-contending team looking to round out their second defensive pairing.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • Jim Matheson of The Edmonton Journal doesn’t believe that defenseman Cody Ceci will remain in a San Jose Sharks uniform for very long. The recently traded defenseman has one year left on his current contract with a cap hit of $3.25MM and will likely be dealt to a contending team before next year’s NHL trade deadline. Ceci has never been an analytics darling and probably shouldn’t be a top-four defenseman on a contending team, but as a bottom-pairing defender, he could bring a lot of value to a team looking to add some experience to the backend of their lineup.
  • St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington was reportedly very happy with the recent moves made by Blues general manager Doug Armstrong (as per Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com). Binnington told Zeisberger that the successful offer sheets to Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg showed current Blues players that Armstrong had faith in the group, which will motivate the club as they head into training camp. Binnington added that the additions to the Blues should help make the team more competitive next season as they will be a faster group that is harder for opponents to play against.

Evening Notes: Bowman, Armstrong, Stone

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Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman didn’t close the door on adding to his roster between now and the start of the regular season. The Oilers have been busy this week making multiple trades and dealing with the fallout of the offer sheet saga with the St. Louis Blues. Bowman didn’t get into any specifics as far as adding to the Oilers lineup but did comment that they have the capability to do so if there is a player out there that makes sense.

Edmonton is pretty set at forward, but their defense leaves a lot to be desired outside of their top pairing. There are a lot of question marks on the bottom two pairings and one could argue they don’t have another top-four defenseman beyond Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. The Oilers won’t find a second-pairing defenseman in free agency but could look at Kevin Shattenkirk as an option to fill the void. Shattenkirk was just fine last season for the Bruins in a depth role and averaged nearly 20 minutes a game just two seasons ago. He isn’t an ideal second-pairing defenseman, but he is probably a better option than what the Oilers are currently looking to deploy on the right side of their second unit.

In other evening notes:

  • St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong spoke today about offer sheets and said he isn’t aware of any GM code regarding the little-used tactic. Armstrong used two offer sheets last week to pry Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg away from the Edmonton Oilers and poured water on the notion that he wouldn’t have done so if former Oilers general manager Ken Holland was still on the job. Armstrong added that he would have tendered the offer sheets to Edmonton even if his own mother was in charge of the team. Offer sheets remain rare in the NHL, and a team using two of them in the same summer is unheard of.
  • Vegas Golden Knights writer Gary Lawless spoke with captain Mark Stone recently to discuss the upcoming season. Stone told Lawless that he expects to play 82 games next season after a spleen injury limited him to just 56 games last season. Those 56 games marked a high mark in games played for the 32-year-old since the 2019-20 season when he dressed in 65 games. Stone also added that he’s hoping to make Team Canada for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off as well as the next Olympics which is certainly a possibility if the Winnipeg, Manitoba native can stay healthy. Stone was terrific in limited time last season, posting 16 goals and 37 assists in the aforementioned 56 games.

Snapshots: Buchnevich, Cajkovic, Leafs, Durandeau

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Just a few months after shopping him around the Trade Deadline, the St. Louis Blues have agreed to terms on a long-term extension with top winger Pavel Buchnevich a year early. But general manager Doug Armstrong acknowledged that the team had to cave to Buchnevich’s term, telling Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post, “We talked [with Buchnevich’s side] again on the first, did the deal on the second. I’ll be honest with you, I budged.” Armstrong added that giving ground on term is the cost of doing business in today’s market.

For their effort in the negotiations, the Blues have now locked up Buchnevich at a manageable $8MM cap hit, set to begin in 2025-26 after his current deal expires. The 29-year-old winger recorded 27 goals and 63 points in 80 games this season, the lowest scoring of his tenure with the Blues. He had a career year in his first year with the club in 2021-22, recording 30 goals and 76 points in just 73 games. Buchnevich scored at a similar pace last year, though an ankle injury would limit him to just 63 games and 67 points.

Buchnevich has emerged as a premier winger in St. Louis, and a great addition to the high-tempo duo of Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. He’ll look to really get comfortable in that role next year, after agreeing to what will be the longest contract of his career.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins forward Maxim Cajkovic has signed with HC Verva Litvinov of Slovakia’s Tipsport Extraliga. The Penguins acquired Cajkovic from the Minnesota Wild in January, sending Will Butcher the other way. The deal proved moot for both teams, as Butcher currently awaits a new deal on the free-agent market. Cajkovic, 23, is returning to Europe after spending all year in the minor leagues, tallying five points in 10 AHL games and four points in 13 ECHL games. He’ll be playing in his third European pro league on this deal, after spending time in Sweden’s SHL and Austria’s ICE Hockey League during his U21 career.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced a new ECHL affiliation, signing an agreement with the Cincinnati Cyclones set to begin next season. The duration of the deal hasn’t been revealed. Toronto turns to the Cyclones after their previous affiliate, the Newfoundland Growlers, ceased operations before the end of the 2023-24 season. The Cyclones are a familiar face in the ECHL, appearing in 23 of the league’s last 30 seasons. They’ve won two Kelly Cup Championships in that span – in 2008 and 2010. Cincinnati will look to return to those heights now in partnership with the Leafs: the fifth NHL club they’ve been affiliated with.
  • Montreal Canadiens winger Arnaud Durandeau has signed with Amur Khabarovsk of the KHL, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Durandeau went on a quick tour around the minor leagues this season, playing for three different AHL clubs this season after a mid-year loan was followed with Montreal acquiring Durandeau from the New York Islanders in exchange for Tyce Thompson. Durandeau scored 24 points across 48 AHL games this season, bringing his career totals to 132 points in 215 games. He also appeared in four NHL games during the 2022-23 season, though he failed to score.

Blues Extend Doug Armstrong, Promote Alexander Steen

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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.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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