Blues Wisely Lock Up GM Doug Armstrong with 5-Year Extension

Blues Wisely Lock Up GM Doug Armstrong with 5-Year Extension

The St. Louis Blues have given GM Doug Armstrong a 5-year extension, as seen in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Armstrong has been with St. Louis since 2008 when he was the President of Player Personnel, before ultimately becoming the team’s general manager in 2010. Armstrong, the current GM of the Year, has been a big reason as to why the Blues are not only competitive but also the reason you won’t hear any buyout talk surrounding any St. Louis contracts.

This 5-year extension is extremely well deserved. If anyone has earned it, it’s Doug Armstrong.

Armstrong was charged with a difficult task. He had to make the Blues as competitive as possible for as little money as possible. He knew he wouldn’t be able to go out and spend a lot of money in order to patch holes or to find talent. He had to make what was already there work and for as cheap as possible. He also needed to be a magician when it came to free agents.

So far, everything Armstrong has done has worked. There are plenty of examples of this but the most obvious would have to be represented through Brian Elliott. Elliott was cast aside by other teams only to be brought in to the Blues where he then statistically became one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. The Blues now have him under lock and key through the 2013-14 season. His salary? $1.8 million. That $1.8 million bested other goaltenders that have salaries of $7 or even $8 million dollars a year.

The talk around the NHL the past few days has surrounded buyouts. Teams want to get out of their bloated contracts, specifically the ones held by Wade Redden and Scott Gomez. You won’t find any similar situations on the Blues. The highest salary on the Blues is $4.75 million, a contract held by Andy McDonald.  Only two other players (Backes, Oshie) make over $4 million a year.

Armstrong has the team right where he, and fans, want it. The team is a Cup contender in every sense of the word. Perhaps more importantly, they’re an affordable Cup contender. It’s difficult to find a single salary on the St. Louis roster that doesn’t seem accurate or doesn’t seem to be a good deal.

Armstrong is a master at getting a higher return on his investment and fans in St. Louis should be thrilled to have him around for another five years.