St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong’s name has been floated by reporters since the Maple Leafs GM vacancy opened.
www.stltoday.com
There would be a few hoops to jump through for the Maple Leafs to hire Armstrong.
First, he would have to be interested in the job. Armstrong has been the Blues’ general manager since July 2010 and has been in the organization since May 2008. He built the Blues into a Stanley Cup champion and will become the longest-tenured GM in the league when David Poile steps away in Nashville at the end of June.
By mid-July, Armstrong would be the longest-tenured GM in Blues history, surpassing the man he replaced in Larry Pleau.
Then, for the Maple Leafs to even speak to Armstrong about the job, they would need permission from the Blues since he is under contract. That decision would come from owner Tom Stillman, who Armstrong reports to.
Teams currently without GMs, like Pittsburgh and Toronto, are best off hiring someone soon before the draft on June 28, or even the combine that begins on June 4. Now, if the Blues even allow the Leafs to speak with Armstrong, they would open themselves up to the possibility of dipping into June without a GM ahead of their biggest draft in recent history.
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A lateral move from one GM position to another has been unprecedented in the last 15 years. Many general managers that move from organization to organization do so with a change in roles and have not immediately jumped from GM to GM.
Ken Holland spent 18 days as a senior vice president in Detroit before he was hired as the Oilers’ general manager. Steve Yzerman was a senior advisor for seven months in Tampa Bay before he moved to Detroit. Lou Lamoriello was a senior advisor for 22 days in Toronto before the Islanders hired him to be the general manager. Dale Tallon (Chicago to Florida) and Jim Rutherford (Carolina to Pittsburgh) had similar paths.
Oddly enough, if the Armstrong to Toronto storyline does take shape, it will harken back to when Brian Burke went from Anaheim to Toronto in 2008. He stepped down as Ducks GM and then was hired by the Maple Leafs.