Armstrong Season Ending Press Conference

[icon]

DA was not particularly impressed with the record after the Olympics. Felt the opposing teams were not taking the Blues seriously during that stretch. He pointed to the poor losses to San Jose, LA and the second Colorado game as evidence that the team still is not where they need to be. The team played well when there was no real pressure to perform but when they got to those games where it did matter for playoffs, they folded. Clearly setting the stage for summer changes.

If this is an accurate account of how Armstrong views the team, I'm with him 1,000%. Being influenced by winning a few meaningless games down the stretch would not be a good thing.

[John Cocktoastin]

Exactly what you want him to say and expect him to say.

We should not be talking about winning meaningless games at this time next year. And who we would draft at 8 versus 11.

Those days are over.

We’ll see.

“Superstar” Robert Thomas needs to lead the boys out the gate then.

Of course he does. Holloway, too. RT's record over the past five seasons is pretty impressive, the Blues would be hard-pressed to replace him and his potential at this juncture.

They all need to come out of the gate with their (donkey) on fire. No excuse to lolly gag until the first of the year.

They'll have a slightly long leash depending on what rookies make the club, but I see Monty's seat getting a little warm if they stumble out of the gate. And I love Monty.

If you are going to light your donkey on fire, Animal Protection Services may want to have a word with you.

[a smell of green grass]

DA was not particularly impressed with the record after the Olympics. Felt the opposing teams were not taking the Blues seriously during that stretch. He pointed to the poor losses to San Jose, LA and the second Colorado game as evidence that the team still is not where they need to be. The team played well when there was no real pressure to perform but when they got to those games where it did matter for playoffs, they folded. Clearly setting the stage for summer changes.

I have a confession..

ASOGG is Army's sock puppet. It's obvious, I know.

There. I admitted it, and I feel better.

I don’t know what you mean. Please stop being so obtuse. I know what DA is thinking. Your bias disqualifies your opinions but I am interested somewhat.

I have been posting on here for a month that the March winning was telling us nothing. It was not a sign that the team was improving. Many disagreed with me. They saw the winning as legitimate.

Now we learn that Army and Monty saw it the same as I. From this circumstance, we can therefore conclude that I am Army's sock puppet. He and I were saying the same thing--WHEN NO ELSE WAS SAYING IT. We're sock puppets. There's no other plausible explanation.

Please call this to the attention of the Moderators! It's another sad case of sock puppetry.

[bud white]

DA was not particularly impressed with the record after the Olympics. Felt the opposing teams were not taking the Blues seriously during that stretch. He pointed to the poor losses to San Jose, LA and the second Colorado game as evidence that the team still is not where they need to be. The team played well when there was no real pressure to perform but when they got to those games where it did matter for playoffs, they folded. Clearly setting the stage for summer changes.

I have a confession..

ASOGG is Army's sock puppet. It's obvious, I know.

There. I admitted it, and I feel better.

I don’t know what you mean. Please stop being so obtuse. I know what DA is thinking. Your bias disqualifies your opinions but I am interested somewhat.

I have been posting on here for a month that the March winning was telling us nothing. It was not a sign that the team was improving. Many disagreed with me. They saw the winning as legitimate.

Now we learn that Army and Monty saw it the same as I. From this circumstance, we can therefore conclude that I am Army's sock puppet. He and I were saying the same thing--WHEN NO ELSE WAS SAYING IT. We're sock puppets. There's no other plausible explanation.

Please call this to the attention of the Moderators! It's another sad case of sock puppetry.

My goodness. You are positivily brilliant. Certainly a hockey mind like no other! Why, pray tell, are you then relegated to limiting your clearly superior intellect on us mere mortals when you should obviously be leading NHL teams to Stanley Cups? Mr. Stillman I beg you. for the benefit of Blues fans now and the rest of recorded time, please hire ASOGG to lead the franchise as President, Director of Hockey Operations, General Manager, Lead Scout, goalie coach, special teams coach, skills coach, video coach and Head Coach.

The minions who follow the St. Louis Blues would forever be in your debt.

[BleedingBleu]

DA was not particularly impressed with the record after the Olympics. Felt the opposing teams were not taking the Blues seriously during that stretch. He pointed to the poor losses to San Jose, LA and the second Colorado game as evidence that the team still is not where they need to be. The team played well when there was no real pressure to perform but when they got to those games where it did matter for playoffs, they folded. Clearly setting the stage for summer changes.

I have a confession..

ASOGG is Army's sock puppet. It's obvious, I know.

There. I admitted it, and I feel better.

I don’t know what you mean. Please stop being so obtuse. I know what DA is thinking. Your bias disqualifies your opinions but I am interested somewhat.

I have been posting on here for a month that the March winning was telling us nothing. It was not a sign that the team was improving. Many disagreed with me. They saw the winning as legitimate.

Now we learn that Army and Monty saw it the same as I. From this circumstance, we can therefore conclude that I am Army's sock puppet. He and I were saying the same thing--WHEN NO ELSE WAS SAYING IT. We're sock puppets. There's no other plausible explanation.

Please call this to the attention of the Moderators! It's another sad case of sock puppetry.

The “March Winning” told us everything. The last 3 in April were the real suspects. However, that suggests more about the organization and their dedication to the fans who pay to experience Blues Hockey than those who don’t and just cry on the socials.

[Bluesfan1978]

Army saying “ this is a massive two months for the St Louis Blues” is the comment that stuck out to me.

[TAFKAP]

There is so much more to this than anybody can explain. Look at the Blackhawks, how many 1st Rounders? How many Top 10? Top 5? Number 1OA? They won in October, and November. You get to the deadline, trade Murphy, Foligno, and a couple dudes, and they [fork]ing fold like a cheap plastic table. All that draft capital, all that losing. The Blues trade their Captain and a significant minute RD, and their rookies step up and win. How is that "Bad"? How is that "Meaningless"? The uber talented Blackhawks, with all the "Top 5s" couldn't [fork]ing do it. I guess I'm the dumb one here because it makes no sense to me. What makes even less sense is that so many here, absolutely (upset) that they played themselves out of a top 5 pick spent Feb-April absolutely (bleep) about Kyrou and Buch. They were what you DESPERATELY wanted to see happen, we needed more guys to give that little. You should have been begging the team to play the [shirt] out of them rather than Holloway,Thomas, and Snuggerud. You didn't. Man up, pick a [fork]ing lane. It's exhausting.

[DawgDad]

Army saying “ this is a massive two months for the St Louis Blues” is the comment that stuck out to me.

The RFA list appears to be ripe.

[Rollin' on the River]

There is so much more to this than anybody can explain. Look at the Blackhawks, how many 1st Rounders? How many Top 10? Top 5? Number 1OA? They won in October, and November. You get to the deadline, trade Murphy, Foligno, and a couple dudes, and they [fork]ing fold like a cheap plastic table. All that draft capital, all that losing. The Blues trade their Captain and a significant minute RD, and their rookies step up and win. How is that "Bad"? How is that "Meaningless"? The uber talented Blackhawks, with all the "Top 5s" couldn't [fork]ing do it. I guess I'm the dumb one here because it makes no sense to me. What makes even less sense is that so many here, absolutely (upset) that they played themselves out of a top 5 pick spent Feb-April absolutely (bleep) about Kyrou and Buch. They were what you DESPERATELY wanted to see happen, we needed more guys to give that little. You should have been begging the team to play the [shirt] out of them rather than Holloway,Thomas, and Snuggerud. You didn't. Man up, pick a [fork]ing lane. It's exhausting.

Their prospects all needed a season to learn. That happens.

Their franchise defenseman made the leap this year after cooking in college for a season.

They’re going to be a force when all of those guys mature.

[TAFKAP]

There is so much more to this than anybody can explain. Look at the Blackhawks, how many 1st Rounders? How many Top 10? Top 5? Number 1OA? They won in October, and November. You get to the deadline, trade Murphy, Foligno, and a couple dudes, and they [fork]ing fold like a cheap plastic table. All that draft capital, all that losing. The Blues trade their Captain and a significant minute RD, and their rookies step up and win. How is that "Bad"? How is that "Meaningless"? The uber talented Blackhawks, with all the "Top 5s" couldn't [fork]ing do it. I guess I'm the dumb one here because it makes no sense to me. What makes even less sense is that so many here, absolutely (upset) that they played themselves out of a top 5 pick spent Feb-April absolutely (bleep) about Kyrou and Buch. They were what you DESPERATELY wanted to see happen, we needed more guys to give that little. You should have been begging the team to play the [shirt] out of them rather than Holloway,Thomas, and Snuggerud. You didn't. Man up, pick a [fork]ing lane. It's exhausting.

Their prospects all needed a season to learn. That happens.

Their franchise defenseman made the leap this year after cooking in college for a season.

They’re going to be a force when all of those guys mature.

They've been maturing since 2017.

[netboy65]

There is so much more to this than anybody can explain. Look at the Blackhawks, how many 1st Rounders? How many Top 10? Top 5? Number 1OA? They won in October, and November. You get to the deadline, trade Murphy, Foligno, and a couple dudes, and they [fork]ing fold like a cheap plastic table. All that draft capital, all that losing. The Blues trade their Captain and a significant minute RD, and their rookies step up and win. How is that "Bad"? How is that "Meaningless"? The uber talented Blackhawks, with all the "Top 5s" couldn't [fork]ing do it. I guess I'm the dumb one here because it makes no sense to me. What makes even less sense is that so many here, absolutely (upset) that they played themselves out of a top 5 pick spent Feb-April absolutely (bleep) about Kyrou and Buch. They were what you DESPERATELY wanted to see happen, we needed more guys to give that little. You should have been begging the team to play the [shirt] out of them rather than Holloway,Thomas, and Snuggerud. You didn't. Man up, pick a [fork]ing lane. It's exhausting.

Their prospects all needed a season to learn. That happens.

Their franchise defenseman made the leap this year after cooking in college for a season.

They’re going to be a force when all of those guys mature.

They've been maturing since 2017.

To add to that, how long have people around here been saying, “Ooh! Watch out for Detroit in a couple years!” Almost 10 now??

[a smell of green grass]

Let's compare and contrast the goals of the teams based on draft strategy:

Teams that utilize the high draft picks (e.g. Chicago):
We are building to win a Cup

Teams that draft in the middle of Round 1 (eg. St Louis and only St Louis)
We are buiding to MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

Congrats, St Louis.

[BleedingBleu]

My Notes from the DA End of Season Conference:

Disappointing Season

After the 2nd half of the 2024/55 season and performance in the playoffs showed progression, they expected a better start to 2025/26. He had theories about the sluggish start out the gates, but did not inject those into the conference. What he did state was the guys moved at the deadline were not “the problem.” – far from it. In hindsight, they viewed the Western Conference’s overall competition as nothing more than a "Pillow Fight;" which influenced the Front Office to reassess short, medium, & long-term plans – including trades of Veteran Players and Locker Room Leaders at the deadline.



Assessing the Team & Season – 1.) Lack of Mental Toughness

I’m actually going to bullet point these.

• Scores of the games: Lost two 4-Goal leads, something that might only happen once a decade happened twice in a month.

• Lost numerous games with 1 minute left
  
  • (again, the emphasis on Mental Toughness)

• Rookie Goal Scorers were Top 5 in points, Top 10 in Goals

• Teams did not take the Blues serious after Olympics – rightfully so.
  
  • (rightfully so was an interesting statement here. I think it was meant to reinforce the pitifulness of the team and the reputation they had earned with a poor first half then selling at the deadline)

Post Olympics

Again, I’ll bullet point these.

• Exceptional First Line (Thomas, Holloway, Snugerrud)

• Played w/House Money and didn't play well with money on the table
  
  • (Another emphasis on Mental Toughness)
  • Played 20 minutes in San Jose & LA
    
    • Came Home against Colorado and [shirt] the bed - not close to that level

• DIFFERENT FEELING Post-4Nations & Post-Olympics
  
  • 2024/25 - that team met everyone of those challenges - should have won the First Round
  • 2025/26 - didn't get the job done

Lingering questions about Final Positioning

They had been collecting First Round Picks. So, they use them. Logan Mailloux played Top Minutes at RHD. Theo Lindstein played as a Top 4 Defenseman. Stenberg came up, played well, and was given minutes.

Of course they’d prefer a to level pick like a Petro/Johnson (looking at people with daggers on this one), with the exception of going through the suck to get to that point. However, they challenged the young players to come up and disrupt that plan… and they did. The players changed the belief the team was a bottom dweller by performing last 7 weeks of the season.


Now, the offseason focus will be on the guys in their early 20’s. Guys like Snugerrud & Mailloux. Doug acknowledged how great Snuggy was, but wants to prepare him for the toughness of a breakout season going forward. Believes in the Sophomore Jinx, because guys are now named commodities to be emphasized by opposition. It only gets harder now that Snugerrud is established. Despite taking that next step in minutes and good play by Mailloux, the same applies - it only gets harder (Oct, Nov, Dec). The “older” group like Thomas, Kyou, Holloway, & Broberg have already been there, done that. In other words, they know what they need to do to prepare for 2026/27


Assessing Thomas & Parayko Future(s)

I’ll share my opinion first, then what Armstrong said. I got a real sense that Colten is not in the “3-year” plan. This is simply because Doug spoke about Thomas and hardly mentioned Parayko – at all. There was lots of talk about getting younger. Lots of talk about opening up spots for prospects. In my opinion, if they had a deal for Parayko at the Deadline, they will probably have a deal for him this Summer. Again, this is my opinion – not Doug’s, not fact-based.


What Doug actually said:

They (Thomas & Parayko) have been Foundational Players for a long time. Will need to talk with Ownership about changes to the 1 & 3 Year Plans. They (players) don’t have a say anymore than the team. It’s a 50/50 relationship with neither side owns the ultimate hammer.

Thomas is a hell of a player and a #1 Center in this league (Once again, looking at those with daggers on this one). Robert was not the same player at the beginning as he was in the end. He had injuries he fought/played thru. If he can put the last 2 Second Halves together into one season, then he is a first/second team Allstar and his play is good enough to represent Canada. (I got the sense he expects RT will be on the team in the future.

Interesting Point by Doug: Robert Thomas was “like the whole team at the start of the year.”


Again… I don’t recall a mention of Parayko, and it felt like he was not apart of the 3-year plan.


More on Thomas and the Top Line…

Growth of players around Thomas? Snug & Holloway... is a huge indication of the player RT is. His assessment of the trade talks were that trade talks can be somewhat/easily fabricated and gain that momentum when they are out in the public discussion. When “everyone is available,” it’s nothing more than a statement and the values are what matter. Robert Thomas is available at the highest of prices and DA values him higher than anyone else... Period.


1-3 years Path – Direction

Doug & Company traded players and got 3 First Round picks – stay on that path. They decided this strategy to rebuild/retool on the fly - never lost sight of keeping draft picks (aka buying at the deadline). And views the 2nd & 3rd Round picks traded for Broberg & Holloway as a extremely good return on investment of those pick assets. Will still need to take time and sit w/Alex Steen to make sure everyone is on the same path. However, here’s a glimpse into the thinking…


Over the last few years…

• 2nd Most First Round Draft Picks

• Top 5 in First 3 Round Draft Picks

The 2023 Picks are Players and they have to play on the team

The 2026 Deadline created space this year, will need to create more space - but not full tear down (Ex: get rid of all veterans).

• - This leads me to think there won’t be any significant Free Agent signings.

Doug then went on to give the following roster assessments:

• Otto & Theo looks like good prospects
  
  • - I don’t take this as a knock, as he later emphasized Otto was a good player and praised Theo for Top 4 Defense contributions

• Snuggy & Dvorsky are on the team

• HOFer looks like a legitimate #1 Goaltender

Preparation w/3 First Round Picks

• Amateur scouting Meetings & U-18's (next Friday)

• Slovakia for 10 days

• Combine & Interview Players

• Amateur Scout Retreat w/part & full time

• Prepare blocks of players - what block

• Move up/back if needed
  
  • Picks/Prospects/Players are leverage
  • Worlds

Input to next season

Training Camp

- new format require leadership practices on par w/nhl practices
- Respecting the league
- Mental Toughness must improve

• hung onto things (organizationally) too long

• Too long to win multiple games in a row

• Mental resolve was not there that Playoff Caliber teams have

Attitude

• Has to be a reconning for what happened

• Attitude at work

• Love the grind, love the challenge love the adversity - thrived on it "punch in the face"

Who is Kyrou?

The belief is that Jordan Kyrou is a 30 Goal Scorer w/bad - Sporatic year. A player who will play many years will have some duds – not every year will be a Rembrant. Doug believes Kyrou could be a 15 year player and that Jordan wants to be successful. To do that, he expects/hopes JK wakes up excited to prove he wasn't the 2025/26 player


Binnington's Future w/Blues

Armstrong acknowledges that Binny has a deep resume, even joked “who can say anything bad about Jordan?” Doug indicated that this was not the year JB wanted to have and reiterates that Jordan is the Ultimate Competitor. However, DA feels Jordan will need to reassess his training.

My Opinion: Jordan is back.

Doug stated his belief in the length of a NHL required a need for two good goaltenders.


Dylan Holloway?

The case with Dylan is “Open-ended” (short term bridge deal?). He compared the Holloway situation with his fellow Offer Sheet buddy, Broberg. Phillip Broberg – “Same player he was when he Started vs Ended” whereas Dylan Holloway must show “he's a 82 game player to the level that he ended.” That there is “more gray to the area for Holloway than Broberg.”



Finally… the Transitions



July 1 – Will be business as usual, Doug will stay in contact with Managers around the league until 7/1/2026 when that officially becomes Steen’s job. Doug is involved in the draft and will work hand-in-hand with Steen.

The guys traded at the draft will be Steen's call, but still be based on Doug's guidance. Alex will put his stamp on the team.



Succession Plan & viewpoint

• Alex is hungry/ready

• New Leadership voice

• Job is to serve Alex & Stillman

Reflection

- 22 years at the helm

- Teams averaged 100 points

- Thoughts turn to the players like Pietro, Morrow, Modano, Steen, Bouwmeister, Binnington, Turco


Anticipate July +2nd: have to let Alex make those decisions - Players know he's in charge



Assistant Coaches

What's a good staff? Steen’s, Armstrong’s, & Montgomery’s input… with Monty carrying a greater weight.

• - Checkmarks meets attributes equals hire

• Has to be vetted - criteria for what we want and not just names
  
  • Special Teams, Communication, Hockey Knowledge, Work w/Youth

Captaincy?

Largely up to Alex & Jim (Montgomery) to assess. DA believes the League is evolving into Leadership by Committee

[Russdv14]

I blame Monty and the coaching staff for the horrendous 2025 portion of the hockey season. They could not decide which defensive scheme to use. Remember that? Even a vet like Fowler couldn’t catch in to play man or man vs zone defense. . Monty didn’t carry over the success at the end of the season, and Mailloux came on paired with Tucker & 23 should have been sent down earlier to find his game.
We didn’t excel on D and the penalty kill til post Olympics when the D like Broberg led great rushes & the forwards finally covered the points for that style of play. And then the forwards….
Monty kept experimenting with the lines from the beginning of the season. Buch and esp Kyrou (eventually benched on and off) kept losing the puck on both ends. Kyrou never caught non consistently so prob time for him to go if we want to pkg him with a first round pick for a more reliable 20+ goal scorer. I guess on the good side maybe Monty will pick a coaching staff he can excel with

[tfriede2]

My Notes from the DA End of Season Conference:

Disappointing Season

After the 2nd half of the 2024/55 season and performance in the playoffs showed progression, they expected a better start to 2025/26. He had theories about the sluggish start out the gates, but did not inject those into the conference. What he did state was the guys moved at the deadline were not “the problem.” – far from it. In hindsight, they viewed the Western Conference’s overall competition as nothing more than a "Pillow Fight;" which influenced the Front Office to reassess short, medium, & long-term plans – including trades of Veteran Players and Locker Room Leaders at the deadline.



Assessing the Team & Season – 1.) Lack of Mental Toughness

I’m actually going to bullet point these.

• Scores of the games: Lost two 4-Goal leads, something that might only happen once a decade happened twice in a month.

• Lost numerous games with 1 minute left
  
  • (again, the emphasis on Mental Toughness)

• Rookie Goal Scorers were Top 5 in points, Top 10 in Goals

• Teams did not take the Blues serious after Olympics – rightfully so.
  
  • (rightfully so was an interesting statement here. I think it was meant to reinforce the pitifulness of the team and the reputation they had earned with a poor first half then selling at the deadline)

Post Olympics

Again, I’ll bullet point these.

• Exceptional First Line (Thomas, Holloway, Snugerrud)

• Played w/House Money and didn't play well with money on the table
  
  • (Another emphasis on Mental Toughness)
  • Played 20 minutes in San Jose & LA
    
    • Came Home against Colorado and [shirt] the bed - not close to that level

• DIFFERENT FEELING Post-4Nations & Post-Olympics
  
  • 2024/25 - that team met everyone of those challenges - should have won the First Round
  • 2025/26 - didn't get the job done

Lingering questions about Final Positioning

They had been collecting First Round Picks. So, they use them. Logan Mailloux played Top Minutes at RHD. Theo Lindstein played as a Top 4 Defenseman. Stenberg came up, played well, and was given minutes.

Of course they’d prefer a to level pick like a Petro/Johnson (looking at people with daggers on this one), with the exception of going through the suck to get to that point. However, they challenged the young players to come up and disrupt that plan… and they did. The players changed the belief the team was a bottom dweller by performing last 7 weeks of the season.


Now, the offseason focus will be on the guys in their early 20’s. Guys like Snugerrud & Mailloux. Doug acknowledged how great Snuggy was, but wants to prepare him for the toughness of a breakout season going forward. Believes in the Sophomore Jinx, because guys are now named commodities to be emphasized by opposition. It only gets harder now that Snugerrud is established. Despite taking that next step in minutes and good play by Mailloux, the same applies - it only gets harder (Oct, Nov, Dec). The “older” group like Thomas, Kyou, Holloway, & Broberg have already been there, done that. In other words, they know what they need to do to prepare for 2026/27


Assessing Thomas & Parayko Future(s)

I’ll share my opinion first, then what Armstrong said. I got a real sense that Colten is not in the “3-year” plan. This is simply because Doug spoke about Thomas and hardly mentioned Parayko – at all. There was lots of talk about getting younger. Lots of talk about opening up spots for prospects. In my opinion, if they had a deal for Parayko at the Deadline, they will probably have a deal for him this Summer. Again, this is my opinion – not Doug’s, not fact-based.


What Doug actually said:

They (Thomas & Parayko) have been Foundational Players for a long time. Will need to talk with Ownership about changes to the 1 & 3 Year Plans. They (players) don’t have a say anymore than the team. It’s a 50/50 relationship with neither side owns the ultimate hammer.

Thomas is a hell of a player and a #1 Center in this league (Once again, looking at those with daggers on this one). Robert was not the same player at the beginning as he was in the end. He had injuries he fought/played thru. If he can put the last 2 Second Halves together into one season, then he is a first/second team Allstar and his play is good enough to represent Canada. (I got the sense he expects RT will be on the team in the future.

Interesting Point by Doug: Robert Thomas was “like the whole team at the start of the year.”


Again… I don’t recall a mention of Parayko, and it felt like he was not apart of the 3-year plan.


More on Thomas and the Top Line…

Growth of players around Thomas? Snug & Holloway... is a huge indication of the player RT is. His assessment of the trade talks were that trade talks can be somewhat/easily fabricated and gain that momentum when they are out in the public discussion. When “everyone is available,” it’s nothing more than a statement and the values are what matter. Robert Thomas is available at the highest of prices and DA values him higher than anyone else... Period.


1-3 years Path – Direction

Doug & Company traded players and got 3 First Round picks – stay on that path. They decided this strategy to rebuild/retool on the fly - never lost sight of keeping draft picks (aka buying at the deadline). And views the 2nd & 3rd Round picks traded for Broberg & Holloway as a extremely good return on investment of those pick assets. Will still need to take time and sit w/Alex Steen to make sure everyone is on the same path. However, here’s a glimpse into the thinking…


Over the last few years…

• 2nd Most First Round Draft Picks

• Top 5 in First 3 Round Draft Picks

The 2023 Picks are Players and they have to play on the team

The 2026 Deadline created space this year, will need to create more space - but not full tear down (Ex: get rid of all veterans).

• - This leads me to think there won’t be any significant Free Agent signings.

Doug then went on to give the following roster assessments:

• Otto & Theo looks like good prospects
  
  • - I don’t take this as a knock, as he later emphasized Otto was a good player and praised Theo for Top 4 Defense contributions

• Snuggy & Dvorsky are on the team

• HOFer looks like a legitimate #1 Goaltender

Preparation w/3 First Round Picks

• Amateur scouting Meetings & U-18's (next Friday)

• Slovakia for 10 days

• Combine & Interview Players

• Amateur Scout Retreat w/part & full time

• Prepare blocks of players - what block

• Move up/back if needed
  
  • Picks/Prospects/Players are leverage
  • Worlds

Input to next season

Training Camp

- new format require leadership practices on par w/nhl practices
- Respecting the league
- Mental Toughness must improve

• hung onto things (organizationally) too long

• Too long to win multiple games in a row

• Mental resolve was not there that Playoff Caliber teams have

Attitude

• Has to be a reconning for what happened

• Attitude at work

• Love the grind, love the challenge love the adversity - thrived on it "punch in the face"

Who is Kyrou?

The belief is that Jordan Kyrou is a 30 Goal Scorer w/bad - Sporatic year. A player who will play many years will have some duds – not every year will be a Rembrant. Doug believes Kyrou could be a 15 year player and that Jordan wants to be successful. To do that, he expects/hopes JK wakes up excited to prove he wasn't the 2025/26 player


Binnington's Future w/Blues

Armstrong acknowledges that Binny has a deep resume, even joked “who can say anything bad about Jordan?” Doug indicated that this was not the year JB wanted to have and reiterates that Jordan is the Ultimate Competitor. However, DA feels Jordan will need to reassess his training.

My Opinion: Jordan is back.

Doug stated his belief in the length of a NHL required a need for two good goaltenders.


Dylan Holloway?

The case with Dylan is “Open-ended” (short term bridge deal?). He compared the Holloway situation with his fellow Offer Sheet buddy, Broberg. Phillip Broberg – “Same player he was when he Started vs Ended” whereas Dylan Holloway must show “he's a 82 game player to the level that he ended.” That there is “more gray to the area for Holloway than Broberg.”



Finally… the Transitions



July 1 – Will be business as usual, Doug will stay in contact with Managers around the league until 7/1/2026 when that officially becomes Steen’s job. Doug is involved in the draft and will work hand-in-hand with Steen.

The guys traded at the draft will be Steen's call, but still be based on Doug's guidance. Alex will put his stamp on the team.



Succession Plan & viewpoint

• Alex is hungry/ready

• New Leadership voice

• Job is to serve Alex & Stillman

Reflection

- 22 years at the helm

- Teams averaged 100 points

- Thoughts turn to the players like Pietro, Morrow, Modano, Steen, Bouwmeister, Binnington, Turco


Anticipate July +2nd: have to let Alex make those decisions - Players know he's in charge



Assistant Coaches

What's a good staff? Steen’s, Armstrong’s, & Montgomery’s input… with Monty carrying a greater weight.

• - Checkmarks meets attributes equals hire

• Has to be vetted - criteria for what we want and not just names
  
  • Special Teams, Communication, Hockey Knowledge, Work w/Youth

Captaincy?

Largely up to Alex & Jim (Montgomery) to assess. DA believes the League is evolving into Leadership by Committee

Awesome summary, thanks. I suspect DA was careful with his words on Kyrou so as not to hurt his trade value. I see unloading Kyrou as a top priority for DA and Steen.

[Younghopp1991]

My Notes from the DA End of Season Conference:

Disappointing Season

After the 2nd half of the 2024/55 season and performance in the playoffs showed progression, they expected a better start to 2025/26. He had theories about the sluggish start out the gates, but did not inject those into the conference. What he did state was the guys moved at the deadline were not “the problem.” – far from it. In hindsight, they viewed the Western Conference’s overall competition as nothing more than a "Pillow Fight;" which influenced the Front Office to reassess short, medium, & long-term plans – including trades of Veteran Players and Locker Room Leaders at the deadline.



Assessing the Team & Season – 1.) Lack of Mental Toughness

I’m actually going to bullet point these.

• Scores of the games: Lost two 4-Goal leads, something that might only happen once a decade happened twice in a month.

• Lost numerous games with 1 minute left
  
  • (again, the emphasis on Mental Toughness)

• Rookie Goal Scorers were Top 5 in points, Top 10 in Goals

• Teams did not take the Blues serious after Olympics – rightfully so.
  
  • (rightfully so was an interesting statement here. I think it was meant to reinforce the pitifulness of the team and the reputation they had earned with a poor first half then selling at the deadline)

Post Olympics

Again, I’ll bullet point these.

• Exceptional First Line (Thomas, Holloway, Snugerrud)

• Played w/House Money and didn't play well with money on the table
  
  • (Another emphasis on Mental Toughness)
  • Played 20 minutes in San Jose & LA
    
    • Came Home against Colorado and [shirt] the bed - not close to that level

• DIFFERENT FEELING Post-4Nations & Post-Olympics
  
  • 2024/25 - that team met everyone of those challenges - should have won the First Round
  • 2025/26 - didn't get the job done

Lingering questions about Final Positioning

They had been collecting First Round Picks. So, they use them. Logan Mailloux played Top Minutes at RHD. Theo Lindstein played as a Top 4 Defenseman. Stenberg came up, played well, and was given minutes.

Of course they’d prefer a to level pick like a Petro/Johnson (looking at people with daggers on this one), with the exception of going through the suck to get to that point. However, they challenged the young players to come up and disrupt that plan… and they did. The players changed the belief the team was a bottom dweller by performing last 7 weeks of the season.


Now, the offseason focus will be on the guys in their early 20’s. Guys like Snugerrud & Mailloux. Doug acknowledged how great Snuggy was, but wants to prepare him for the toughness of a breakout season going forward. Believes in the Sophomore Jinx, because guys are now named commodities to be emphasized by opposition. It only gets harder now that Snugerrud is established. Despite taking that next step in minutes and good play by Mailloux, the same applies - it only gets harder (Oct, Nov, Dec). The “older” group like Thomas, Kyou, Holloway, & Broberg have already been there, done that. In other words, they know what they need to do to prepare for 2026/27


Assessing Thomas & Parayko Future(s)

I’ll share my opinion first, then what Armstrong said. I got a real sense that Colten is not in the “3-year” plan. This is simply because Doug spoke about Thomas and hardly mentioned Parayko – at all. There was lots of talk about getting younger. Lots of talk about opening up spots for prospects. In my opinion, if they had a deal for Parayko at the Deadline, they will probably have a deal for him this Summer. Again, this is my opinion – not Doug’s, not fact-based.


What Doug actually said:

They (Thomas & Parayko) have been Foundational Players for a long time. Will need to talk with Ownership about changes to the 1 & 3 Year Plans. They (players) don’t have a say anymore than the team. It’s a 50/50 relationship with neither side owns the ultimate hammer.

Thomas is a hell of a player and a #1 Center in this league (Once again, looking at those with daggers on this one). Robert was not the same player at the beginning as he was in the end. He had injuries he fought/played thru. If he can put the last 2 Second Halves together into one season, then he is a first/second team Allstar and his play is good enough to represent Canada. (I got the sense he expects RT will be on the team in the future.

Interesting Point by Doug: Robert Thomas was “like the whole team at the start of the year.”


Again… I don’t recall a mention of Parayko, and it felt like he was not apart of the 3-year plan.


More on Thomas and the Top Line…

Growth of players around Thomas? Snug & Holloway... is a huge indication of the player RT is. His assessment of the trade talks were that trade talks can be somewhat/easily fabricated and gain that momentum when they are out in the public discussion. When “everyone is available,” it’s nothing more than a statement and the values are what matter. Robert Thomas is available at the highest of prices and DA values him higher than anyone else... Period.


1-3 years Path – Direction

Doug & Company traded players and got 3 First Round picks – stay on that path. They decided this strategy to rebuild/retool on the fly - never lost sight of keeping draft picks (aka buying at the deadline). And views the 2nd & 3rd Round picks traded for Broberg & Holloway as a extremely good return on investment of those pick assets. Will still need to take time and sit w/Alex Steen to make sure everyone is on the same path. However, here’s a glimpse into the thinking…


Over the last few years…

• 2nd Most First Round Draft Picks

• Top 5 in First 3 Round Draft Picks

The 2023 Picks are Players and they have to play on the team

The 2026 Deadline created space this year, will need to create more space - but not full tear down (Ex: get rid of all veterans).

• - This leads me to think there won’t be any significant Free Agent signings.

Doug then went on to give the following roster assessments:

• Otto & Theo looks like good prospects
  
  • - I don’t take this as a knock, as he later emphasized Otto was a good player and praised Theo for Top 4 Defense contributions

• Snuggy & Dvorsky are on the team

• HOFer looks like a legitimate #1 Goaltender

Preparation w/3 First Round Picks

• Amateur scouting Meetings & U-18's (next Friday)

• Slovakia for 10 days

• Combine & Interview Players

• Amateur Scout Retreat w/part & full time

• Prepare blocks of players - what block

• Move up/back if needed
  
  • Picks/Prospects/Players are leverage
  • Worlds

Input to next season

Training Camp

- new format require leadership practices on par w/nhl practices
- Respecting the league
- Mental Toughness must improve

• hung onto things (organizationally) too long

• Too long to win multiple games in a row

• Mental resolve was not there that Playoff Caliber teams have

Attitude

• Has to be a reconning for what happened

• Attitude at work

• Love the grind, love the challenge love the adversity - thrived on it "punch in the face"

Who is Kyrou?

The belief is that Jordan Kyrou is a 30 Goal Scorer w/bad - Sporatic year. A player who will play many years will have some duds – not every year will be a Rembrant. Doug believes Kyrou could be a 15 year player and that Jordan wants to be successful. To do that, he expects/hopes JK wakes up excited to prove he wasn't the 2025/26 player


Binnington's Future w/Blues

Armstrong acknowledges that Binny has a deep resume, even joked “who can say anything bad about Jordan?” Doug indicated that this was not the year JB wanted to have and reiterates that Jordan is the Ultimate Competitor. However, DA feels Jordan will need to reassess his training.

My Opinion: Jordan is back.

Doug stated his belief in the length of a NHL required a need for two good goaltenders.


Dylan Holloway?

The case with Dylan is “Open-ended” (short term bridge deal?). He compared the Holloway situation with his fellow Offer Sheet buddy, Broberg. Phillip Broberg – “Same player he was when he Started vs Ended” whereas Dylan Holloway must show “he's a 82 game player to the level that he ended.” That there is “more gray to the area for Holloway than Broberg.”



Finally… the Transitions



July 1 – Will be business as usual, Doug will stay in contact with Managers around the league until 7/1/2026 when that officially becomes Steen’s job. Doug is involved in the draft and will work hand-in-hand with Steen.

The guys traded at the draft will be Steen's call, but still be based on Doug's guidance. Alex will put his stamp on the team.



Succession Plan & viewpoint

• Alex is hungry/ready

• New Leadership voice

• Job is to serve Alex & Stillman

Reflection

- 22 years at the helm

- Teams averaged 100 points

- Thoughts turn to the players like Pietro, Morrow, Modano, Steen, Bouwmeister, Binnington, Turco


Anticipate July +2nd: have to let Alex make those decisions - Players know he's in charge



Assistant Coaches

What's a good staff? Steen’s, Armstrong’s, & Montgomery’s input… with Monty carrying a greater weight.

• - Checkmarks meets attributes equals hire

• Has to be vetted - criteria for what we want and not just names
  
  • Special Teams, Communication, Hockey Knowledge, Work w/Youth

Captaincy?

Largely up to Alex & Jim (Montgomery) to assess. DA believes the League is evolving into Leadership by Committee

Amazing write up. Hit pretty much every point. I almost felt as if i was re-listening.
One question. When armstrong spoke on thomas going to worlds for canada, did you catch a hint of annoyance? When i was listening i got the sense army was saying thomas should prioritize the offseason for a hot start. That makes sense to me, but i could have read it wrong since army is usually a huge supporter of players representing their country. Thanks in advance.