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Doug Armstrong’s Best Transactions by Season – Part 2
Last week, we reviewed Doug Armstrong’s most impactful moves as St. Louis Blues general manager through the 2017-18 season. As we continue to honor his final year at the helm, here’s part two, highlighting more of his best decisions that made an immediate difference.
While draft-day trades that brought future stars like Vladimir Tarasenko and Jordan Binnington were crucial, they took years to pay off. This segment focuses on moves that delivered results right away.
2018-19 Season – Solving Multiple Problems at Once
In the summer of 2018, Armstrong faced three major objectives: find a true top-line center, clear cap space to make that possible, and keep the team’s best prospects intact. Remarkably, he accomplished all three with a single deal—acquiring Ryan O’Reilly from the Buffalo Sabres.
To get O’Reilly, the Blues sent Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka, Tage Thompson, and a first-round pick to Buffalo. The trade brought in a legitimate No. 1 center while shedding two difficult contracts, and only cost the team one promising young player in Thompson.
The payoff was historic. O’Reilly captured the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. His five goals in the Stanley Cup Final helped St. Louis win its first-ever championship. He later became team captain, cementing this as one of Armstrong’s greatest moves.
2019-20 Season – Securing Brayden Schenn’s Future
Following their Stanley Cup victory, Armstrong signed forward Brayden Schenn to an eight-year extension. Given the team’s tight salary cap situation and Alex Pietrangelo’s pending contract, the move raised eyebrows at the time.
Since then, Schenn has been consistently productive, never scoring fewer than 16 goals in a season—even during the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Now serving as captain, Schenn is central to leading the Blues into their next chapter, building on last season’s return to the playoffs.
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