51ºÚÁÏ

Eleven months ago, the Blues unveiled a succession plan in their front office that would make Steen the special assistant to general manager Doug Armstrong for two years and then push him into the GM role in 2026 once Armstrong adopts president of hockey operations as his sole position. In the year that has followed, Steen has had a front seat to a lot.

There were offer sheets that poached Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway from Edmonton. There was a midseason coaching change from Drew Bannister to Jim Montgomery. There was a season-changing trade by acquiring Cam Fowler from Anaheim. There were decisions on the edges of the roster, including veteran forward Brandon Saad’s contract termination.

Now, Steen has one season left to learn under Armstrong before taking on the big chair himself. What does he need to be ready for that day?

“Information, knowledge, experience,� Steen said in an interview Friday morning. “I think some of the things I’m going to go through, I can only go through. There’s one draft. There’s one trade deadline. I need to go through them. I think preparing myself the best I can through conversations, meetings, having a support group to discuss things with.�

Steen spent this season embedded within the Blues organization. While he was a European development consultant in 2023-24, Steen lived in Sweden and worked with the Blues prospects while also learning about the amateur scouting side of the organization.

This season, Steen returned to 51ºÚÁÏ. He worked in concert with the rest of the Blues hockey operations staff and was a consistent presence on the road with the team.

“With anything new, you’ve got to find your own rhythm and momentum in it,� Steen said. “For instance, last year, I was in Sweden the majority of the time, flew over and it was difficult finding that rhythm with not being around, the time difference. Coming over this year, when to be around the coaches, how much to be around the players, trying to figure out what rhythm works for yourself, but more importantly, what works for everybody around you.�

Steen, of course, is very familiar with the Blues organization. He arrived in 51ºÚÁÏ in 2008 in a trade with Toronto and spent parts of 12 seasons with the Blues. When he retired, he was fourth in franchise history in games played and sixth in both assists and points.

He’s had a working relationship with Armstrong for almost two decades now, too. When Steen joined the team in 2008, Armstrong was the director of player personnel. In 2010, Armstrong became GM and is the longest-tenured GM in Blues history. Steen said he’s worked very closely with Armstrong since then.

“He knows how much he can push as a manager to player relationship,� Steen said. “Now, it’s in a new context, but the familiarity is still there. So that’s been a big bonus. He included me in a lot of different areas last year. I got a really good insight into the amateur side of the organization, got to meet everyone. It has been kind of a gradual growth. I would say the biggest thing going from a player to the other side, regardless of where it is, to see all the inner workings and the amount of time and effort, and everything that goes into it.�

During his season-ending news conference, Armstrong said Steen “was looked at differently this year than he would have been if he didn’t have that title coming.�

“He could act differently, people know where he’s going to be, what decisions he’s going to make,� Armstrong said. “His confidence as a hockey executive is growing. The questions he asks now are genuine, they’re thought out. He’s been around long enough to see what we do and how we do it. I think he’s in a really good spot. There’s no question he’s going to be ready.�

When the Blues announced their succession plan last year, the goal for Armstrong was to transition the club to Steen with up-and-coming prospects, cap flexibility and a potentially malleable roster. But this year’s turnaround seems to have sped up the process, and Armstrong even acknowledged that the “re-whatever� was over.

The Blues lost in the first round in seven games to the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Jets, falling in double overtime after blowing a two-goal lead in the final two minutes of the third period. The collapse sullied a roaring finish in which the Blues were the best team in the league after the 4 Nations Face-Off and closed an eight-point gap in the standings to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

“Just watching us progress throughout the year and our mindset of really digging in and investing and putting in what we were looking to get out was the biggest lesson for us,� Steen said. “We will now spend time throughout the course of the summer improving ourselves as individuals and being sharp and ready to build off this momentum that we’ve created for ourselves. At the same time, understanding the amount of work and what was put in to get out what we got out. It needs to start on the first day of when we get back together again.�

At the trade deadline, the Blues did not execute a trade, though rumors swirled around captain Brayden Schenn. If the Blues remained far out of the playoff picture, 51ºÚÁÏ could have remained sellers at the deadline. But they got hot, and the Blues stood pat.

“It’s been very educational for me to work this closely with him,� Steen said of Armstrong. “I think the team as a whole when you’re going through it and you sit at 30,000 feet as Doug explains, you look at the team, a lot of times, the team shows you what it is that you should be looking at, or where we can improve or what we’re lacking, or what we’re missing, or what we’re doing really well. That ultimately is what shapes your ideas and then you throw it in the sifter, you go through it, and you have the meetings about it.�

Until he moves to the big chair, Steen said “the biggest thing is a little bit of patience.�

“Sometimes, you get a little eager,� Steen said. “But at the same time, I’ve been around this game since I was young. My father player, I played. I know what to expect. Setting aside emotion a lot of times, I’m able to go into what I was like mentally as a player, to control those emotions a little bit. Little eager at times, but positively. It’s more enthusiasm and excitement.�

Armstrong, too, is “excited about this next year.�

“I’m excited about working my hardest to make sure that this team is ready to take off when there’s a new guy doing this press conference next year,� Armstrong said, then paused. “Actually, I’ll do this press conference next year, but the year after.�