MANALAPAN, Fla. — Doug Armstrong feels it’s time for someone else to have a crack at running Team Canada.

The general manager of the Canadian men’s Olympic team has informed Hockey Canada that he’s stepping down from the role, which he’s had dating back to a championship win at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

His decision to vacate the position has nothing to do with falling short in the gold medal game in Milan. He was going to step down, win or lose.

“It’s time for a change,” Armstrong told 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.”

Three IIHF World Championship gold medals, two silver medals, plus being part of Steve Yzerman’s management staff for Olympic championships in 2010 and 2014 — there’s been a lot of Hockey Canada in Armstrong’s life. All of it he cherishes.

“I’ve enjoyed Team Canada since 2002 when Bob Nicholson gave me an opportunity to work under Lanny McDonald at the World Championship, which was a thrill of a lifetime because of who Lanny is,” Armstrong said. “It just kind of snowballed from there.”

But it’s time to pass on the baton.

“I’ll support them any way I can moving forward,” Armstrong said of Team Canada.

“We thank Doug Armstrong for his many years of dedication, leadership and success with Hockey Canada’s men’s program,” Hockey Canada senior vince president of high performance and hockey operations Scott Salmond said in a statement Tuesday. “After his contract ended at the conclusion of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Doug informed us he will be focusing on his position with the St. Louis Blues, and we wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”

The tournament in Milan was a blast despite Canada coming up as silver medalists. The sport as a whole came out on top.

“I wouldn’t change anything except the outcome,” Armstrong said with a smile. “Getting to know the coaches that I got to meet and work with and watch operate, the training staff, the best of the best that Canada has to offer, the medical team and the equipment staff and the rest of the management group — I really enjoyed it.

“I think hockey is better because of the Olympics. I’m excited that we’re looking to have a consistent flow through that (best-on-best) for a while that they can build off of.”

The overtime loss to Team USA is still hard to digest, but Armstrong said it’s easier to accept in some ways because Team Canada played so well — outplaying the U.S. for long stretches but running into a red-hot Connor Hellebuyck.

“Team Canada didn’t leave much on the table in that game,” Armstrong said. “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.

“I think if we had played poorly or felt that we didn’t give our best, it would be harder to sleep at night. It’s not easy to sleep, but I thought the players gave everything they had.”

It’ll be interesting to see who Hockey Canada turns to next as GM. There’s a World Cup of Hockey coming up in February 2028 and the next Winter Games in southern France in 2030.

Depending on how long he plays, Armstrong sees “future Team Canada GM” potential in Sidney Crosby.

“I was so fortunate to come into things in 2010 (Vancouver Olympics) and how he’s carried the flag for Canada for 16 years, and he does it with such dignity and grace,” Armstrong said of Canada’s longtime international captain. “It’s one thing to say that when you win all the time. But the dignity and grace he showed in Milan is something that I’m never going to forget. And that’s not easy to do. We all try to do it. We try to act professional and classy. But he takes it to a different level.

“So yes, I hope one day that he manages (Team Canada). He’s got great hockey knowledge. He’s got experience. He’s got passion. He’s got drive. There’s a purpose to everything that he does. And, quite honestly, I see a lot of that in Connor McDavid, too.”

As Armstrong closes a chapter on the international front after 24-plus years of involvement with Hockey Canada, he is also closing a chapter in his NHL day job.

Armstrong recently presided over his last trade deadline as Blues GM, something he couldn’t help but think about as it was playing out.

“Yeah, it was an interesting feeling,” Armstrong said. “It’s been interesting all year, quite honestly. Having the Olympic preparation certainly was a nice distraction. But the disappointment of the season — we went in with expectations of being competitive for a playoff spot and competitive with a certain level of team, and we haven’t reached that. So, that made was supposed to be hopefully a quiet year into a loud year.”

It is perhaps not the ideal way to hand the GM keys over to Alex Steen, who officially takes over as Blues GM on July 1, but that’s the business of the game sometimes. The Blues announced this succession plan two years ago. It’s rare in NHL circles to do it that way. Armstrong credits owner Tom Stillman for seeing that path.

“I told the ownership group at the time that I love to manage, I enjoy the process, but I think there’s a shelf life for everything,” Armstrong said. “Having the same voice leading the franchise, for me, it had run its course. It wasn’t just the players, but it’s the trainers, the coaches, the marketing department, the finance department. The rhythms needed to change.

“I’ve been in St. Louis 18 years, 16 as a manager. It just felt the time was right to have a new voice come in. When I told Mr. Stillman my feelings, he then talked about what’s next. And I was a big Alex Steen fan.”

They talked about maybe doing it the more traditional way, where they just wait two years before announcing a new GM. But they agreed on the succession plan being announced instead.

“Mr. Stillman looked at it not only from an NHL perspective but also a business perspective, and he said, ‘There’s not many companies that don’t have succession plans at senior management levels,’” Armstrong said. “He felt it would be the smoothest thing for the Blues organization, and I obviously agreed with him.”

Armstrong now has to start thinking about how to approach being a full-time president of hockey operations.

“This is really the time where I’m starting to focus in on that,” Armstrong said.

He’s going to reach out to guys like Brendan Shanahan and Cam Neely, who have had that job for many years, for advice on how to handle his new gig. He’ll also reach out to the likes of Jeff Gorton, Jim Rutherford and George McPhee, who were GMs and transitioned to president of hockey ops. All three worked with first-time GMs, too.

“I’m going to try to pick their brains on what they did,” Armstrong said. “This is a little different because it’s the same organization. It’s going to be important for me to support Alex, but I think from a distance at the start so he can build his own relationships from the GM job.”

It’ll be Steen’s turn to be at these GM meetings next year. The tough part for Armstrong is leaving behind the day-to-day relationships he’s forged with so many GMs over the past couple of decades. They’ll remain friends, of course, but those GM-to-GM conversations will dissipate as Armstrong wants to make sure Steen handles that part of it.

For example, Armstrong is a senior member of the GMs’ executive committee, a group that met with NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly on Sunday night to go over the agenda. That’s another role that will no longer be part of Armstrong’s life. He’s ready for this change but has mixed feelings because he’s has been an influential voice at these meetings over the years as one of the game’s caretakers, helping forge new rules and tweaks in the game.

“We talk as managers in different ways, and I’m going to miss those talks,” Armstrong said. “It’s not just about trades. It’s about running the business of hockey. We try to support each other. We all want to win. But there’s nuances to this job that only 31 other people experience and are going through. We try to share those. That’s the part I’m going to miss: the camaraderie. That’s all I’ve really known for the last 23 years.”

Armstrong has more than 1,600 regular-season NHL games under his belt as a GM — 15th all-time among NHL GMs. His 882 wins are ninth all-time, and his .609 winning percentage is fourth among GMs with more than 1,000 regular-season games under their belts.

The two-time Stanley Cup champion executive has a body of work that will beckon a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame one day, just as it did for David Poile, Lou Lamoriello and Ken Holland.

But for now, it’s not goodbye. There’s plenty of track left for the 61-year-old, who remains energetic and hungry to work — but now in a different role.

What Armstrong can’t control or predict is whether another NHL team will come knocking at the door this offseason, asking him about his interest in running their franchise.

“I’m excited about working with Alex,” Armstrong said. “I think there’s a job there for me. It’s not going to be an honorary job. There’s work I can do to help him. But I do love a lot of the things that managers do — the building of a staff, the crossing with different parts of an organization to behold something that’s sustainable, to working with the athletes, to working with the coaches. But it did run its course (in St. Louis).

“I’m not applying for other NHL jobs. Right now, I don’t have any focus on that. But I do have a contract and the Blues have treated me unbelievable.”

But if another team calls, he probably would at least listen.

“I’m 61. I’m not sure how you’re supposed to feel at 61, but I don’t feel ancient, I don’t feel out of touch,” he said. “I don’t feel out of energy. Just out of a job.”

He laughed as he delivered that last line. He’s not out of job but he is an outgoing GM. And there’s some nostalgia with that.

I get the feeling, though, that he may not be done being an NHL GM. A team is going to come calling at some point.