The Blues are stepping into the Alexander Steen era with a familiar kind of uncertainty hanging over the club, and that’s exactly why the comparison to Doug Armstrong’s first season matters.
When Armstrong took over, St. Louis had just finished a non-playoff year in 2009-10 at 40-32-10 for 90 points. His first season after moving up from Director of Player Personnel was actually a step backward: 38-33-11 for 87 points.
Steen is now walking into a similar setup. The Blues are in a retool, leaning on younger talent to build the next core group. That core is already in place, but its ceiling won’t be known until the puck drops and the games start telling the truth.
Armstrong’s early years didn’t look like an instant turnaround, but the patience paid off. Before the 2011-12 season, he added Jamie Langenbrunner, Scott Arnott, and Brian Elliott, and all three played major roles in that year’s success and beyond.
That’s the path Steen could be staring at, too. If this season sets up a stronger free-agent class next summer, the Blues could be positioned to go shopping in a big way. If the younger group settles in and plays proactive hockey, one bigger addition could be enough to push the roster over the top.
There’s also the reality that much of this roster reflects Armstrong’s final work before handing things over. He retooled the team before passing the keys to Steen, which gives the new headman a chance to make an immediate impression.
Now it’s just a matter of which direction this first season takes: another year of necessary middling results, or a 2026-27 surprise that ends with a playoff berth.
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Blues Prospect Pipeline Just Gave Fans A Reason To Dream Bigger
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At the top of that group are Jimmy Snuggerud and Adam Jiricek, two players whose placement underscores how much attention the Blues future pieces are starting to draw around the league. The rankings are, of course, only projections, but they do offer a snapshot of how evaluators see the upside in St. Louis prospect pool, and why theres a growing sense that the next wave could be more than just filler around the edges. [Read more 🡒]