- Alexander Steen officially takes over as Blues general manager with free agency opening Wednesday
- Doug Armstrong shifts to president of hockey operations after 16 years running the front office
- Read below for Steen’s free agency plan and Robert Thomas’s take on a busy week
Alexander Steen is running the St. Louis Blues now.
Steen officially took over as general manager on Tuesday, one day before NHL free agency opens at noon ET. He replaces Doug Armstrong, who held the job for 16 years and now moves up to president of hockey operations.
The first message was a measured one. Steen made clear he likes the roster he inherited and won’t force a splash just because the market is about to open.
Here’s how he framed his plan for Wednesday:
“(Free agency) opens tomorrow and everybody’s a little antsy, but it’s a longer time frame,” Steen said. “We are happy with where we’re at, where we’re positioned. We like our team, but our management group’s high on that internal competition and if something presents itself, we’ll look at it and act accordingly.”
Watch Steen’s full introductory press conference:
The Blues are coming off a 37-33-12 season that left them four points behind the Kings for the second wild card in the West. They’ve missed the playoffs in three of the last four years.
Armstrong didn’t leave the shelves empty on his way out. Over the past week, St. Louis added Mason McTavish from Anaheim, Connor McMichael from Washington, and Brandon Carlo from Toronto in three separate trades.
Robert Thomas came out to back the new boss. The Blues’ No. 1 center led the team in goals, assists, and points this season, and he sees the young additions as a real lift.
Thomas talked about the grind of the past couple seasons:
“These last couple years have been tough,” Thomas said. “We want to be really competitive every year, and we’ve only had one full year of that.”
Steen takes over a roster Armstrong just reshaped, with the market opening in less than 24 hours. His first real test starts Wednesday at noon.
