Doug Armstrong named Hockey Canada GM for 2026 Winter Olympics

This confirmed TSN reporter Darren Dreger’s report from Thursday that Armstrong would lead the group.

Hockey Canada also announced that retired NHLer Ryan Getzlaf and Scott Salmond will serve on an executive committee with Armstrong. Getzlaf will serve as a player relations advisor and Salmond will be senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations.

Armstrong will also lead the group that oversees management groups at various international events between now and the 2026 Olympics. He will appoint and work with the general managers and executives for the 2024 and 2025 World Championship, as well as the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off.

“There is a wealth of experienced and successful Canadian executives throughout the NHL, and we believe Doug is the best person to lead our National Men’s Team and build our management groups from a talented pool of executives at each event leading up to and including the 2026 Olympics,” Pat McLaughlin, Hockey Canada COO and executive vice-president of strategy, said in a press release.

The 64-year-old Armstrong has been part of Hockey Canada’s management group for the gold medal-winning teams in both the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, as well as the 2007, 2016 and 2023 Gold Medal World Championship teams. He was also in charge of the 2016 World Cup Championship-winning team.

Armstrong was named the GM of the 2022 Winter Olympic team, but the NHL did not participate due to COVID-19.

Armstrong has served as general manager for two NHL franchises, leading the Dallas Stars between 2002 and 2007, then the Blues since 2010. Before taking over as GM, he served as an assistant for the Stars since 1992-93 when they were still known as the Minnesota North Stars. He won a Stanley Cup with the club in 1998-99.

In 2013, he was named NHL General Manager of the Year, then runner-up in 2019.

After the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019, Armstrong became the first manager to be part of the Double-Triple Gold Club (two Stanley Cup championships in 1999 and 2019, Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014 and World Championships in 2007 and 2016).