- Alexander Steen is working through his first offseason as Blues GM after Doug Armstrong stepped aside July 1
- St. Louis moved Jordan Kyrou and two first-round picks to bring in Connor McMichael and Mason McTavish
- Read below for why Jordan Binnington might not open the season in the St. Louis net
The Blues are still building the same way. The guy running the build is new.
Alexander Steen took over as general manager on July 1, ending the run Doug Armstrong started in 2010. Armstrong moved up to president of hockey operations and spent the previous two years walking Steen through the job, as Lou Korac of NHL.com laid out in the club’s 32 in 32 preview.
Steen was asked what he wants his team to look like on the ice.
“When I look at successful hockey teams, they compete all over the ice in all three zones. Five guys attack, five guys defend, and it goes quick. You play with pace, execution at a high level.”
Watch his introductory news conference in full:
The roster he inherited got a lot younger over one week in June. St. Louis sent Jordan Kyrou to Washington on June 23 for Connor McMichael, prospect Milton Gastrin and the No. 16 pick. Three days later, two 2026 first-rounders went to Anaheim for Mason McTavish.
Kyrou led the Blues in goals in three of the past four seasons. McMichael, 25, and McTavish, 23, are the two being asked to cover that on a club that ranked 24th in scoring at 2.80 goals per game.
Armstrong drew a line between this group and the veteran rosters he used to chase short windows with.
“This group is not replicating anything. They’re creating their own thing.”
Goaltending is the real question. Joel Hofer took the crease from Jordan Binnington after the Olympic break and never handed it back.
| Post-Olympic break | Record | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joel Hofer | 12-2-2 (16 starts) | 2.04 | .933 |
| Jordan Binnington | 5-3-1 (9 starts) | 2.25 | .907 |
Hofer made more starts than Binnington on the season, 43 to 39, and finished second in the NHL with six shutouts. Binnington still went to the Olympics as Canada’s starter, and he is heading into the last year of a six-year, $36 million contract.
Brandon Carlo gives the blue line a veteran body after arriving from Toronto on June 27 for two third-round picks. He slots in behind Colton Parayko, Cam Fowler and Philip Broberg, who is coming off the best year of his career.
Nobody is wearing the C right now. Brayden Schenn had it until the March 6 trade to the Islanders, and the Blues closed the year with a group of alternates. Robert Thomas is the obvious pick whenever they get around to naming one.
That would end a long wait. The only full season St. Louis has ever played without a captain was 1996-97, the gap between Wayne Gretzky and Chris Pronger.
All the picks Armstrong stockpiled did move the pipeline, which jumped from 16th to seventh in this year’s league rankings:
Justin Carbonneau scored 51 goals in the QMJHL last season and Adam Jiricek put up 59 points in the OHL. Both are expected to start in Springfield, along with Theo Lindstein, who already has 17 NHL games on his sheet.
Steen’s first year gets graded on one thing. If McTavish and McMichael score enough to drag St. Louis back into a crowded Central Division race, the handoff from Armstrong to Steen looks clean.
