Armstrong steps down as Team Canada GM: 'Time for a change'

Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong informed Hockey Canada that he's stepping down from his role.

"It's time for a change,” Armstrong told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic on 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."

Armstrong had held the GM position since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. The executive led Canada to a win at that tournament as well as an IIHF World Championship gold medal in 2023 and a 4 Nations Face-Off title in 2025. He also won two Olympic gold medals (2010, 2014) as a member of Steve Yzerman's staff. He was announced as Olympic GM in 2022 if NHL players had competed.

His tenure as GM ended with an Olympic silver medal in Milan Cortina. Armstrong said he'd planned to step down regardless of the result.

"Team Canada didn't leave much on the table in that game," Armstrong said when asked about the overtime loss to Team USA in February. "We played as good of a game as we probably could. I think the expected goals were five-and-a-half to one-and-a-half. I mean, some nights the hockey gods have a different desire for the outcome."

Armstrong, 61, is also leaving his position as general manager of the St. Louis Blues on July 1. He sits ninth all time among NHL GMs with 882 wins and has posted a .609 winning percentage. Armstrong won the Stanley Cup in 2019 with the Blues and had previously won a championship as an assistant GM with the Dallas Stars in 1999. Alex Steen will take over as Blues GM while Armstrong transitions to a role as president of hockey operations.