St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong knows how to send a message. So does his head coach — Jim Montgomery’s bold decision to scratch veteran forward Jordan Kyrou ahead of the Blues’ game against Buffalo last week certainly got everyone’s attention.
Armstrong’s time in St. Louis has seen him send more than a few powerful messages to his players, and the roster always seems to respond. The most notable case was around Christmas 2018, when the GM reportedly put out a memo to his NHL peers that the Blues were ready to sell. (As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman described in Monday’s edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Armstrong’s language was a little more creative — and festive — than that.) Of course, we all know what happened afterwards: The Blues climbed from worst to first and completed their historic ascent by hoisting the Stanley Cup.
Last season, as the Blues again found themselves near the bottom of the league standings late into fall, Armstrong’s squad was again the subject of much trade speculation. Blues players were well-represented in rumour mills and reports, with captain Brayden Schenn the most popular target. But Armstrong gave his players the opportunity to climb back into relevance and let their play dictate the GM’s deadline approach. What followed was a double-digit win streak coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off, a quiet trade deadline for the Blues, and a wild card berth.
Now, as the 2025-26 season nears the quarter-mark with St. Louis sitting seventh in the Central Division with a 6-8-3 record, the Blues are once again at a crossroads and in the crosshairs of the rumour mill, so we can’t help but wonder… will this year be different?
“For teams that have called general manager Doug Armstrong as the Blues have struggled, the message is, ‘the Blues are open for business,’” reported NHL insider Frank Seravalli during a Prime segment last week.
When breaking down the Blues’ situation on Monday’s podcast, Friedman said Schenn’s name has “been out there” again already this season. It’s easy to understand why. The captain is a strong leader, a productive playmaker, and is still under contract for two more years at a very reasonable $6.5-million AAV. This year also ushers in a change in his contract, shifting from a full no-trade clause in the first five years of his deal to a modified no-trade clause that kicked in this season, which states he can submit a 15-team no-trade list.
Another point of interest differentiating this year from previous seasons: This is Armstrong’s final year as Blues GM before handing the reins to Alexander Steen.
“I think that Armstrong wants to leave the team in a good place for Steen,” said Friedman. “I just cannot believe for a second that Armstrong would do anything that he thinks would leave Steen in an overall worse position as he enters GM of the Blues. It just doesn’t strike me as the way that he’s wired, and he has really worked hard to put Steen in a position to be successful once he takes over.”
Added Friedman, “I would be really surprised if he did something that he didn’t think long-term was beneficial for the new manager, who’s basically his right-hand guy.”
32 Thoughts: The Podcast
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
Making the case for an early coaching change in Nashville
The Blues aren’t the only team in the Central Division off to a slow start. In fact, no team has generated less offence than the last-place Nashville Predators, who for the second straight season have fallen completely flat out of the gates despite obvious star power on the roster.
General manager Barry Trotz took a patient approach with his squad last season, but considering just how bad the roster has performed so far he likely cannot afford to do the same this year. Through 18 games, the Predators have strung together back-to-back wins just once and are currently riding a five-game losing streak straight to the bottom of the standings. Seravalli spoke Monday of a “toxic energy” around the team, and we’ve heard the frustration from players during media availabilities — most notably, Ryan O’Reilly last week, who provided a brutal assessment of his own play (and one that, if you’ve watched his career, is far too harsh.)
O’Reilly is one of the few stars on this team who doesn’t have a protection clause on his contract — though Trotz’s respect for the veteran had him handling his position with the club last year as though he did. Considering all three of the team’s highest-paid forwards (Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault) all have no-move clauses tied to their contracts, Trotz’s hands might be otherwise tied should he decide to try to shake things up.
One obvious area where Trotz can take immediate action is behind the bench. Head coach Andrew Brunette coached the Predators to a 47-30-5 record and a playoff spot in 2023-24, but the club finished with only 30 wins last season and so far is on track for most of the same at 5-9-4 so far.
After standing by Brunette last spring despite an uninspiring season, could we see Trotz make a change? Now would be an interesting time to do so, as Seravalli points out, considering their schedule around the NHL Global Series. The Predators take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sweden Friday and Sunday, after which they don’t suit up again for nearly a week while traveling home and settling back in.
“Loads of extra practice days, time overseas to bond, maybe hear a different voice,” suggested Seravalli. “Maybe that’s a galvanizing change, a shot in the arm, that they might need as they try and turn their season around.”
Where do Panarin and the Rangers go from here?
Three goals in three games, including two against Nashville on Monday, ended Artemi Panarin’s career-high six-game pointless skid — and, apparently, justified his decision to shave his head.
Maybe his hair was weighing him down, but it wasn’t the only thing. While Panarin seems to have rediscovered at least a little bit of his scoring touch since speaking with The Athletic’s Vincent Mercogliano last week, there’s still the fascinating matter of his contract. As Mercogliano wrote in the piece (which was published just prior to Panarin’s skid-breaking game against Detroit), “Panarin admitted the uncertainty surrounding his future is weighing on him.”
Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos also reported on Panarin’s situation earlier this month, writing that Panarin “has made it clear to the Rangers that he is not interested in a pay cut from his current $11.642 million, and that has shut down any chance of negotiations.”
The Rangers, noted Kypreos, don’t want him at that same rate again. Where that leaves talks will likely depend greatly on where the team sits in the standings by the midway point of the season. The 8-7-2 club has plenty of ground to make up if they’re to jump back into contention in Mike Sullivan’s first year at the helm.