When the 2028 World Cup of Hockey rolls around, Team Canada will have a new general manager. On Tuesday, St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong announced he will step down as Team Canada’s Men’s general manager, a role he’s held since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. As Canada’s GM, Armstrong won a gold medal at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, gold at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, and silver at the 2026 Winter Olympics. His resume with Canada is far more extensive, winning gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics as an assistant GM. He’s also won three gold medals at the World Championship in different roles. His decision to step down comes as a bit of a surprise, but he told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that this decision had nothing to do with falling short of winning gold at the most recent Olympic Games. “It’s time for a change,” Armstrong told The Athletic on Monday [https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7123657/2026/03/17/doug-armstrong-canada-olympics-blues/]. “I’ve enjoyed every aspect of it. Obviously, you wish you could go out on top. But it would be selfish to want to do it again. It’s such a great experience, and I think more people should enjoy it.” In addition to stepping down as GM of Team Canada, the 61-year-old will not be the GM of the Blues next season, as former Blues winger and current special assistant to the GM, Alexander Steen, will take over that role in the 2026-27 season. Armstrong will become the full-time president of hockey operations. Doug Armstrong (Jeff Curry-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/1fbe8b14-666b-4edc-85e0-623887b99296.jpeg] Doug Armstrong (Jeff Curry-Imagn Images) Canada has not yet named a replacement for Armstrong, but there are plenty of viable candidates. Dallas Stars [http://thn.com/dallas] GM Jim Nill has won three consecutive Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Awards and built a powerhouse Stars team. Additionally, Julien BriseBois has won two Stanley Cups as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning [http://thn.com/tampabay] and has prolonged their competitive window. Both Nill and BriseBois served as assistant GMs for Canada at the two most recent events. Kyle Dubas and Don Sweeney are other notable candidates, both of whom were a part of Team Canada’s brass at the Olympics. In his interview with The Athletic, Armstrong revealed that he can picture Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid as future GMs of Team Canada. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/8127be64-29a5-4c3a-8ebc-51fffbeb115e.jpeg] For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
