Team Canada announced Friday that it has named Doug Armstrong as general manager of the men's ice hockey team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
Doug Armstrong has been named general manager of Hockey Canada for the 2026 Winter Olympics. #stl blues
Details ➡️ https://t.co/TeHP49JmYb https://t.co/TeHP49JmYb
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 15, 2024
Armstrong, 59, also announced that he will “lead the management group that will lead Team Canada in various events over the next two seasons,” including the 2024 IIHF World Championship and the 2025 NHL4 Nations Faceoff, an international tournament in which players from each country participate. will supervise the appointment of Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland.
He has had a long and distinguished career representing Canada in international competitions. Armstrong was an assistant on GM Steve Yzerman's staff at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Olympics, winning gold medals at both events. He served as GM for the 2016 Hockey World Cup and 2023 IIHF World Championship, where his country also won a gold medal.
Armstrong was scheduled to coach Canada at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, but the NHL decided not to participate, and former NHL player Shane Doan replaced Armstrong.
In the NHL, Armstrong was the GM of the Dallas Stars and Blues. He served as assistant GM when the Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999 and as GM when St. Louis won in 2019.
He has been the Blues' GM since 2010 and is the third-oldest manager in the entire league behind Lou Lamoriello and Ken Holland. Armstrong recently won his 800th game as GM, making him the second fastest to reach the milestone (1,432 games) behind Holland (1,381 games). He is one of only 11 GMs with over 800 wins and is currently just four wins behind Bobby Clark in 10th place.
Hockey Canada also announced that Ryan Getzlaf will serve as player relations advisor. He had his 17-year playing career with the Anaheim Ducks (from 2005 until 2022), served as captain for 12 of his seasons, and won the Stanley Cup in 2007. In the NHL, he played in 1,157 games and scored 1,019 points (282 goals, 737 assists). He appeared in three NHL All-Star Games (2008, 2009, 2015). Internationally, he won gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics and the 2016 Hockey World Cup.
Inside Canada's decision
If there's a theme to how Hockey Canada has decided to approach the 2026 Men's Olympic Tournament, it's that between the next two IIHF Men's World Championships and the Four Nations events leading up to the Olympics. It's about finding common ground.
As such, Olympic GM Doug Armstrong will “oversee” the appointment of GMs for the Men's World Championships and, more importantly, the Quadrilateral Games, but will not be the GM for those events himself. Dew.
My understanding is that the frontrunners to be Team Canada's GM at next year's Four Nations tournament are Kelly McCrimmon, Don Sweeney, Julien Brisebois, Kevin Cheverdayoff, and Jim Nill.
Again, Mr. Armstrong is there to help advise in a support role for whoever wins the GM job for that event.
The Canadian team is expected to name a GM for this spring's Four Nations event, possibly before the Stanley Cup Playoffs. See you soon.
It's also important to note that the person named as Canada's head coach at the Four Nations Games does not necessarily guarantee a role at the Olympics. Two different GMs are making these calls, so these will be two separate decisions.
John Cooper was named head coach of Team Canada ahead of the 2022 Winter Games in China before the NHL withdrew its participation. He would be a particularly good candidate.
Another thing to note about Hockey Canada's approach is to use as many different NHL players as possible in the next few international tournaments, but the players shortlisted for the 2026 Winter Olympic team will likely be fine. That's it. He will next compete in the IIHF World Championship this spring and further strengthen his international resume. Performance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs will probably be the most important metric, but playing in the men's world will also be important if the player is available. — Pierre LeBrun, NHL Senior Writer
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(Photo: Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire, Getty Images)
