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Steen Introduced As 12th GM In Blues History, Ready to Hit Ground Running
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- Steen Introduced As 12th GM In Blues History, Ready to Hit Ground Running
ST. LOUIS -- Alexander Steen already sounds like a general manager.
On Tuesday, the St. Louis Blues officially made him one.
After two years of waiting -- and learning -- the role he was set to take when Doug Armstrong, after 16 years assuming the role, decided to give the title up to assume just the sole responsibility of being president of hockey operations, Steen had his first order of business to discuss after being introduced at Enterprise Center.
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The Blues announced that they would be buying out the final year of Jonathan Drouin 's contract ($4 million cap hit) to create roster space for internal competition among the younger players in the organization. The Blues also extended qualifying offers to recently-acquired Connor McMichael and defenseman Leo Loof while not offering QO's to Jonatan Berggren , Matthew Kessel , Thomas Bordeleau and Mikhail Abramov.
There are reports that Berggren was re-signed to a one-year, $2 million deal although the Blues had not made that official as of Tuesday afternoon.
"Berggren was more about the deadline," Steen said. "Wedidn't feel like we were going to get it done before then, butwe've been in communication with both him and his agent. We'rehopeful that we can get something done and he can continue to grow asa player with the Bluenote on.
"He's got high offensive vision. I enjoywatching him play. He has a unique ability. You can almost see whenhe sees the pass when it's about to open up and then he presents itat the right time with the right weight with minimum amount ofcomplication to it. And it goes fast. He picks it up fast. If hefinds the offensive play to be a little bit on the risky side, heknows the time to score and he'll revert to something else. He'snot a big risk guy, but he does have that offensive creativity. Ithink towards the end of the season last season it wasn't easybecause of the amount of bodies we had and what we were looking toaccomplish with the last part of the season, but I thought that hereally stepped up his all-around game. Defensively, he was verysound. We like him as a player. I know Monty and his coaching stafflike him as a player.
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"'Kess,' it was a difficult year forhim last year. I think both sides felt like this was the time whereit might be a good time for him to seek other opportunities."
But in the meantime, Armstrong officially handed the keys over to the 42-year-old, who now will assume the role of building the Blues back to where it was when he was a player, and a Stanley Cup champion in 2019.
"Hockey's been my biggest passion sinceI was young," Steen said. "I've always seen hockey as a part ofmy life but was not sure what that would look like after my career. Ithink during your career, you're so invested in what you'redoing. You kind of live in your player bubble and don't reallythink outside that. There wasn't really much on my mind other thanI knew I wanted to have it part of my life when I was retired. Asconversations grew, I'm extremely passionate about the St. LouisBlues. We've shared so many memories and incredible experiences asa group here. The values and culture that Doug wanted to set here inSt. Louis when we started out together here in 2010. The support andhockey-first mindset of our ownership group, my creative appreciationfor this city and when you've lived here as long as you have, yougrow an understanding a history of the organization, the teams thathave played here, I've really always felt attached to that. As thisgrew, it became more and more enticing and to know that I would havethe mentorship and leadership of (chairman and owner) Tom (Stillman)and Doug with me through this process as I was getting ready forthis, it felt very comfortable, very familiar with. … For me, itwas an opportunity I was really looking forward to and I was excitedabout."
For Armstrong, it wraps up -- at least for now -- a run of 22 years as a GM with the Blues, and the first six years with the Dallas Stars . Armstrong is 892-536-155 with 35 ties in1,618 regular-season games, a .610 points percentage, 15 seasons ofreaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs and one championship.
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Armstrong had a record of 682-427-132 in 1,241 regular-season games in St. Louis.
"DougArmstrong has been one of the top GM's in the game for a long time,the top GM in my book," Blues chairman and owner Tom Stillman said. "He managed the Blues for16 years with an extraordinary track record o winning teams andcreative player moves. Of course Doug was the first architect of theBlues' first Stanley Cup championship. He will be seen as the GOATamong Blues GM's, one of the best ever in the league and one daywill likely go into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
"WhenBlues fans look back at Doug's tenure as GM will most likely thinkof his winning record, his best player moves and of course hisStanley Cup championship, but I also hope that they recognize whoDoug was and is the ultimate team player, always doing what is bestfor the Blues, always putting the team's interests above his own.He set that standard for us as an organization moving forward."
Armstronghas mentored Steen the past two seasons and feels he's ready torelinquish the keys.
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"I'mexcited to work with him," Armstrong said of Steen. "I couldn'tthink of a more deserving person to be the GM of the St. Louis Blues.Alex and I came here together from different organizations. I thinkit was 2008 when we arrived, I came from Dallas, Alex from Toronto .We worked together as player personnel-player, then we workedtogether as manager-player, then we worked together as managementtogether. One thing I always admired about Alex is he pushed to makeme a better GM every day. We challenged each other, he challenged me,he made me think outside the box. He made me understand that he and Iowed it to each other to do the best we could do and ultimately toget that Stanley Cup and to share that with him was very meaningful.… I couldn't be more proud or honored to pass the torch to Alex.He's going to do a great job here. We're all here not to supporthim as he supports the players."
Robert Thomas and Colton Parayko were two Blues veterans on hand to see the baton handed off to their new boss, and former teammate.
"Really exciting," Thomas said. "It's a change for alot of us and the relationship. It's funny seeing him up theretalking like that but just a lot of excitement. The people that haveplayed with him know what kind of a person that he is, the way helikes to lead and how much he really cares about St. Louis, the city,the organization, the players. I think for a lot of us, we know thatand we feel it. For other guys that haven't played (with Steen),it's pretty easy to pick up on. I think there's a lot ofexcitement. It's going to be a lot of fun.
"... The way he helped young guys get in the league and feelcomfortable. Back then I was a little young and didn't realize it,but you kind of reflect on it now, moments that you've had withhim. You definitely know he's more than capable and fit for thisjob. He'll really excel in it."
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Parayko said, "Super-excited. I couldn't be happier for him. He's an amazing person. He's always been about the Blues. I'm really excited for him and to watch his progress and watching him succeed. He'll be great."
Robert Thomas: 'I've loved my time in St. Louis. I love it here, I love the organization, the city.'
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