Confirmed with Link: Doug Armstrong extension, 4 years

[mab894]

Personally I hate how the Blues love extending their players/coaches/FO during the season. I feel like the enhanced job security makes them let off the gas a bit right before playoff time. Armstrong's made some good moves and also had some bad resignings but all in all he's a pretty good GM especially at drafting. I just feel that extensions should be rewarded after a long playoff run, not in the middle of the season

 

[LetsGoBooze]

Why is passing on Backes good for the future when he gave Backes money to Steen who is the lesser player IMO?.

Since Backes left for BOS:

Backes: 91GP 21G 26A = 47pt
Steen: 108GP 20G 49A= 69pt

How is Steen the lesser player? He's been healthier (As DA predicted), and has put up 22 more pts overall. Sure his deal is a year or two too long, but in order to get players to sign sometimes that's the pill you have to swallow.

 

[Bluesguru]

Since Backes left for BOS:

Backes: 91GP 21G 26A = 47pt
Steen: 108GP 20G 49A= 69pt

How is Steen the lesser player? He's been healthier (As DA predicted), and has put up 22 more pts overall. Sure his deal is a year or two too long, but in order to get players to sign sometimes that's the pill you have to swallow.

Steen is way more fragile than Backes. Backes was out of lineup due to diverticulitis, not because his body is falling apart like Steen.

They're different players to begin with, but the argument is his style of game is what this team needs more. Backes still puts up over 200 hits per year, and close to 200 shots on goal per year. Steen only had 117 SOG last year. And Backes' Corsi possession numbers were much stronger than Steen's last year.

It's all about building a team and IMO your team needs a little bit of everything, it needs speed, skill and some toughness and guys that are willing to pay the price at the net. And to me, bringing back your Captain wouldn't of been a bad move for Armstrong and he would of hardly been blamed for doing so. Furthermore, you still had control of Steen and could of gotten assets in return for him. I'd rather have Backes who fits a need here plus additional assets for Steen than just have Steen and nothing else which is what we got.

 

[Tryblot]

Steen is way more fragile than Backes. Backes was out of lineup due to diverticulitis, not because his body is falling apart like Steen.

They're different players to begin with, but the argument is his style of game is what this team needs more. Backes still puts up over 200 hits per year, and close to 200 shots on goal per year. Steen only had 117 SOG last year. And Backes' Corsi possession numbers were much stronger than Steen's last year.

It's all about building a team and IMO your team needs a little bit of everything, it needs speed, skill and some toughness and guys that are willing to pay the price at the net. And to me, bringing back your Captain wouldn't of been a bad move for Armstrong and he would of hardly been blamed for doing so. Furthermore, you still had control of Steen and could of gotten assets in return for him. I'd rather have Backes who fits a need here plus additional assets for Steen than just have Steen and nothing else which is what we got.

Agreed. I don't care what anyone says, steen has been trending downwards for more than just a couple of years. The year he went on a tear he changed his game and since then he's been a worse player. He started trying to get fancy and thought he was a sniper and even then was turning the puck over a lot but nobody noticed because of the goals he was scoring.

 

[Dbrownss]

Backes wasn't extended due to the extra year he wanted. Not because they wanted Steen more.

 

[Shwabeal]

Personally I hate how the Blues love extending their players/coaches/FO during the season. I feel like the enhanced job security makes them let off the gas a bit right before playoff time. Armstrong's made some good moves and also had some bad resignings but all in all he's a pretty good GM especially at drafting. I just feel that extensions should be rewarded after a long playoff run, not in the middle of the season

I think the last thing this team needed/wanted was an Armstrong that is auditioning to keep his job at the trade deadline this year. That's how you end up with knee jerk/desperate decisions that could hurt the long term outlook of the organization.

 

[carter333167]

I'm fine with Armstrong for now...he has his bad days and his good days but there definitely are worse GM's out there.

The Schenn trade made a lot of lemonade out of lemons. Let's not forget, however, that DA created some of those lemons.

He's had some solid contracts but a few bad ones as well. I think in the end the Steen and Bergie contracts are going to look a bit silly.

I would like him to commit to hanging on to our top picks at this point. I wonder what Bill Armstrong would have done with the #1 picks that Army traded?

 

[Chubbinz]

My biggest gripe with Army's tenure up to now was paying Steve Ott the money that rightfully belonged to Soboka and driving him away to Russia for three years in the process. We really could have used a guy like Sobotka in that 2015 Minnesota series. Other than that he's been excellent IMO.

Huh? He only signed Ott after Sobotka left for the KHL.

 

[Ranksu]

I think the last thing this team needed/wanted was an Armstrong that is auditioning to keep his job at the trade deadline this year. That's how you end up with knee jerk/desperate decisions that could hurt the long term outlook of the organization.

If that is case alarms should go off right away. No matter if he's in hot seat or not he should make right choices/moves what comes to GM in NHL team.

 

[TheOrganist]

Always liked Armstrong more than most from a roster building perspective. He's taken calculated gambles when necessary (I was one of the few who defended the logic of the Ryan Miller trade back in the day) while maintaining a pipeline of good, young talent and not saddling the Blues with hardly any bad contracts throughout his reign.

While his success relative to the NHL since 2011 is undeniable, unfortunately his legacy with the Blues to this point is tainted by his relationship with Hitchcock. You could easily argue that not firing Hithcock after the 2015 playoff disaster cost the Blues a Cup in 2016. Even after the horrid Oshie trade (again, a transaction directly related to his decision to bring back Hitchcock), the Blues had the best roster on paper in the NHL that year in my opinion with the perfect blend of veteran players and up and coming, impact youngsters. I am still pissed to this day that he let Hitchcock come back and coach that stacked team which should have won the Cup.

 

[Note Worthy]

Always liked Armstrong more than most from a roster building perspective. He's taken calculated gambles when necessary (I was one of the few who defended the logic of the Ryan Miller trade back in the day) while maintaining a pipeline of good, young talent and not saddling the Blues with hardly any bad contracts throughout his reign.

While his success relative to the NHL since 2011 is undeniable, unfortunately his legacy with the Blues to this point is tainted by his relationship with Hitchcock. You could easily argue that not firing Hithcock after the 2015 playoff disaster cost the Blues a Cup in 2016. Even after the horrid Oshie trade (again, a transaction directly related to his decision to bring back Hitchcock), the Blues had the best roster on paper in the NHL that year in my opinion with the perfect blend of veteran players and up and coming, impact youngsters. I am still pissed to this day that he let Hitchcock come back and coach that stacked team which should have won the Cup.

I definitely see what you're saying about 2016. It did feel like 'the year'. The blend of veteran players and impact young players and the puck luck we had that we almost never got before. Remember at the end of game 7 against Chicago when the shot rang off BOTH posts and stayed out? Elliott was playing out of his mind and well above his normal play...it just all seemed to be coming together in the playoffs for us that year. It had a special feeling. That one does still sting.

 

[MissouriMook]

Huh? He only signed Ott after Sobotka left for the KHL.

You can't allow facts to get in the way of a "good" narrative.

 

[Bluesguru]

The Blues had a 5 year run where they had the best record in the NHL and they didn't even make 1 appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

I'm going to take a guess and say there isn't another team in NHL history who could lay claim to this with the exception of the San Jose Sharks.

And we're supposed to think Armstrong is going to get the job done & bring the Cup here when the Blues are actually in the midst of a mini-rebuild?

Ironic that the Schenn deal saved his rear end when in actuality it was a deal made in desperation by DA to make amends for a horrible contract he gave Lehtera. And it cost the franchise 2 number 1 picks.

And for this the man gets an extension.

I give DA credit for his talent in assembling a management team within the framework of an organization but when it comes to constructing a roster that will get St. Louis that Cup, I think he is lacking in that area. And after a 5 year run where the organization had the best record in the NHL, I don't know how anyone can dispute this claim as the Blues never got to the SC Finals.