Doug Armstrong was named general manager of Canada's men's team for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics on Friday.
The St. Louis Blues president of hockey operations and GM, 64, will also be leading Canada's management groups for the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off and future IIHF World Championship tournaments.
"I've been fortunate to work with great people in Hockey Canada for a number of years, starting with Bob Nicholson and Steve Yzerman going to the Olympics all the way through, and we understand the challenges ahead of us," Armstrong said. "We understand that hockey has never been stronger across the globe and the competition is going to be great. We can't guarantee victory but we can guarantee the work ethic and the thought process that will go behind not only the Olympic Games in 2026, but the tournaments leading up to that will be paramount and we'll put a product on the ice that all Canadians can be proud of."
NHL players will return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014, when Canada last won a gold medal. It is coming off a sixth-place finish in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
The inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off will be a best-on-best tournament with the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden competing from Feb. 12-20. They will play seven games during a nine-day period in yet-to-be-named cities in North America, one in the United States and one in Canada.
The 2024 IIHF World Championship will be held May 10-26 in the Czech Republic.
Armstrong said the management group's goal is to name a GM for the World Championship in the next 10-14 days, and name a GM for the 4 Nations Face-Off around the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs next month.
"We want to use the Worlds and the playoffs as a barometer to scout," he said. "So those would be the two main ones, and again, we want to use time as an ally as we move forward and naming people."
Retired NHL star Ryan Getzlaf was named player relations adviser. Getzlaf spent 17 seasons in the NHL, all with the Anaheim Ducks, and is their all-time leader in games (1,157) and points (1,019). He won the Stanley Cup with them in 2007 and retired following the 2021-22 season.
"This is an opportunity of a lifetime for myself to grow in the game and learn and get Canada back to where I know they will be," Getzlaf said. "Going into this my mindset is to try and bridge the gap between player and management and that's something that I have a great deal of confidence in, in the fact that I've been doing it for a long time as a captain of an NHL hockey club.
"I've been fortunate enough to play for Canada at many different levels and understand what the success is and what it means to put on that jersey each and every time you do. I'm really looking forward to this opportunity."
Armstrong has been with the Blues since 2008 and was hired as GM in 2010. He is the longest-tenured GM in the NHL.
St. Louis won its first Stanley Cup championship in 2019 under Armstrong, who also won the Cup in 1999 as assistant GM of the Dallas Stars.
Armstrong began his executive career with the Minnesota North Stars in 1990 and was GM of Dallas from 2002-07.
He was part of the Hockey Canada management team for the 2010 and 2014 Olympics in Vancouver and Sochi, respectively. Canada also won gold in 2010.
Additionally, Armstrong was part of the Canada teams that won gold at the World Championship in 2007, 2016 and 2023, and the World Cup of Hockey 2016.
"I think character, integrity, two things that come to mind right away," Hockey Canada senior vice president of high performance and hockey operations Scott Salmond said. "Doug's day job is obviously very important and I know how hard he works for the St. Louis Blues, but his work ethic, his ability to connect with people and his experience around our programs in particular, and understanding those players in what it takes to win, I think for me sets him apart from a lot of others."
Getzlaf, in addition to his NHL success, won gold with Canada at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics and at the World Cup of Hockey 2016.
"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," Hockey Canada chief operating officer Pat McLaughlin said. "Doug and Ryan both bring accomplished careers and many years of NHL and international experience to Hockey Canada, and Scott has been instrumental in the success of Canada's national teams at all levels for more than 20 years."
NHL.com senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report
