3 St. Louis Blues Players GM Doug Armstrong Should Have Kept

The scrutiny St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong has faced during his tenure with the team has been well documented. After helping build a team that hoisted the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup in 2019, the Blues have failed to win more than one round in the playoffs since and are on the verge of missing the playoffs for back-to-back seasons for the first time in more than a decade. A team poised to be a contender in the Western Conference for years to come is now in the midst of a “competitive retool” just five years after emerging as the league’s best. How did the team get here?

Many will look at Armstrong’s poor contract and salary cap management since the 2020 offseason as the reason for the sudden downfall of the team’s performance. Fingers have been pointed in the direction of the 14-year president of hockey operations for the contracts handed out to the likes of Torey Krug and Justin Faulk, who each got six-year deals worth over six million dollars a year after the departure of captain Alex Pietrangelo. It is fair to say both players have been severely disappointing and have not played well consistently during their Blues tenure, but two players don’t make up an entire roster. Several veteran players on long-term contracts are underperforming, and the same man gave out those same contracts — Doug Armstrong. However, the bad contracts and extending of veteran players are not the only moves that have led to the Blues’ collapse in such a short time. 

When scanning across the league, several impact players on multiple contending playoff teams were once members of the Blues. These were players whom Armstrong seemingly didn’t retain or simply moved off of in favor of another player or asset that did not benefit the team’s performance. These moves ended up expediting the team’s collapse quicker than many anticipated. 

Armstrong has undoubtedly made many positive decisions and moves to help keep the Blues a competitive franchise for over a decade. However, every GM has moves and decisions that come back to haunt them, and Armstrong is no exception. Here are three players that Doug Armstrong should have retained and who could have helped prevent the Blues from falling into mediocrity. There were several players to choose from, with honorable mentions going to T.J Oshie, Jake Walman and Robby Fabbri.

Alex Pietrangelo

Let’s get the obvious move out of the way. This is the move that many fans and analysts look at as the…