The overtime heartbreaker was enough of a gut punch.
St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong has told Hockey Canada he will be stepping down as Canadian men’s Olympic general manager, per TSN insider and The Athletic columnist Pierre LeBrun.
The decision comes on the heels of an all-time Olympic USA-Canada gold medal match that saw Jack Hughes score the game-winning goal in overtime to give Team USA their first Olympic gold in men’s hockey since the 1980 “Miracle.”
He has held the position with Hockey Canada since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
The decision for Armstrong, who received some post-tournament criticism for leaving 18-year-old Islanders sensation Matthew Schaefer off the roster, was coming win or lose.
“It’s time for a change,” he said to the outlet Monday. “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 his time with Hockey Canada, Armstrong has claimed three IIHF World Championship gold medals and two silver medals. He was also a part of the management staff under Steve Yzerman for the Olympic championships in 2010 and ’14.
“I’ve enjoyed Team Canada since 2002 when Bob Nicholson gave me an opportunity to work under Lanny McDonald at the World Championship, which was a thrill of a lifetime because of who Lanny is,” Armstrong said. “It just kind of snowballed from there.”
“I’ll support them any way I can moving forward,” he added.
At the end of the NHL season, Armstrong will also step down from his role as the Blues’ general manager as he moves on into a president of hockey operations role. Alex Steen will take over as general manager officially on July 1.
“I told the ownership group at the time that I love to manage, I enjoy the process, but I think there’s a shelf life for everything,” Armstrong said. “Having the same voice leading the franchise, for me, it had run its course. It wasn’t just the players, but it’s the trainers, the coaches, the marketing department, the finance department. The rhythms needed to change.
“I’ve been in St. Louis 18 years, 16 as a manager. It just felt the time was right to have a new voice come in. When I told Mr. Stillman my feelings, he then talked about what’s next. And I was a big Alex Steen fan.”
Armstrong has won two Stanley Cups and remains in the top 10 in both wins (882) and winning percentage (60.9) among general managers with over 1,000 regular-season games logged.
