Doug Armstrong is stepping down as general manager of Team Canada's men's hockey competitions, sparking debate on who should be next in charge.
After guiding Team Canada to a Four Nations Face-Off championship and a silver medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Armstrong has decided to step down. He'd already announced that he was stepping away from his position as GM with the St. Louis Blues after this season, so it's no surprise that he won't be in charge of this team for the 2028 World Cup and 2030 Winter Olympics.
The 61-year-old's career in hockey may not be over, but it does feel like he's moving closer to retirement. This may have been his first Olympics as GM, but he's been part of Team Canada's management group for two decades, winning multiple gold medals in the Olympics and World Championships. Not only that, but Armstrong has been very successful in the NHL as he won a Stanley Cup as an assistant GM in 1999 and as a GM in 2019.
He's done everything in hockey that you'd ever hope for, but now it's time for a younger generation to take over and hopefully guide Team Canada to multiple gold medals. With that being said, who better than Kyle Dubas to take over as Canada's next GM.
Team Canada should appoint Kyle Dubas as next GM
Dubas already has international hockey experience, as he was an assitant GM for the 2026 Winter Olympics, but also seved as GM for the 2025 IIHF World Championship. Although Team Canada captured silver at the Olympics and lost in the quarterfinals at the world's, Dubas was on the wrong side of luck for both teams.
Team Canada was a dominating force at the World Championships before the host country Denmark upset them in the quartefinals. Canada had 40 shots on net before allowing two goals in the last three minutes to lose 2-1. As for Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, we all know that they were the better team but unforutnately got out-goalied by Connor Hellebuyck.
Throughout his career, Dubas has constructed amazing teams and although he hasn't won a Stanley Cup, he's shown that he's one of the smartest executives in hockey. The Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the best stories in hockey this year, as it looks like they're going to make the playoffs when everyone assumed they were going to be a lottery team.
As for his time in Toronto, it's pretty clear that he's missed right now, as Dubas constructed three of the top four teams in Leafs history, based on points percentage. GM Brad Treliving took a good roster that Dubas put together has turned them into one of the worst teams in the NHL.
If Team Canada wants a bright young hockey mind to guide them for the next few years, Dubas is the perfect man for the job. Hopefully that happens, so it can show the Leafs executive team just how dumb they were to let him walk in the first place.