Q&A with Blues chairman Tom Stillman: State of the team, ‘McDavid deal,’ rising cap and more

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ST. LOUIS — It’s become a tradition every offseason for The Athletic to sit down for a Q&A with St. Louis Blues chairman Tom Stillman.

A year ago, Stillman spoke with us about how difficult the decision was to fire coach Craig Berube and teased us on how interesting the summer might be with general manager Doug Armstrong making moves to improve the team.

This year, after a surprising trip to the NHL playoffs, there were new topics to discuss: Armstrong’s final year as GM, the transition to Alexander Steen and more.

In a phone call Monday, Stillman joked that he had his own surprise. He was in his car with wife, Mary, and said, laughing, “I’ve suggested that she answer the questions.”

“I’m primed and ready,” Mary said.

“I just think it’s time for her …” Stillman said.

“To weigh in,” she finished.

Instead, however, Mary got out of the car after a few minutes.

“She took off with our new puppy,” Stillman said of the couple’s female Welsh Springer Spaniel, named Patty. “She’s a cute little dog, and it’s nice having her as I’m licking my wounds because she always wants to come up and cuddle.”

Stillman’s wounds are a reference to the Blues’ agonizing, last-second loss to the Winnipeg Jets in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs. But months removed from that defeat, Patty is helping him turn his attention to the future.

Here’s what Stillman had to say this year.

Note: This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

How much did the second-half surge and making the playoffs change your view of where you are in the retool, and because of it, where are you now?

We took a very big step forward this year — a bigger step than we thought it might be a few months earlier. That goes back further than how well we played in the later part of the season. It goes back to the three big moves that Doug (Armstrong) made: the acquisitions of (Philip) Broberg, (Dylan) Holloway and Cam (Fowler), along with the hiring of (Jim Montgomery). When you look at that all together, Monty and the players moved us toward a different approach and different culture in the way we play, and in the end, that was a big step forward.

What was your initial reaction to Armstrong wanting to bring back Jim Montgomery, and what is it about him that makes the hiring so promising?

My initial reaction was, “Yeah, that’s the right thing to do, and let’s do it right now.” Usually with something that big, we let it percolate, but that’s not how it was. It was, “What a great coach, and if he’s available, we’ve got to do it.” At the same time, I have to admit that I felt bad for (former coach Drew Bannister). He was improving and that was what we expected of him, and he was doing fine. So that part is tough. But you have to remember that our job is to do the best thing we can by the Blues franchise, so then we moved ahead.

With Monty, he’s got such a great combination of accountability and making sure people know their job in detail. Like, that player isn’t supposed to be over there — he’s supposed to be nine inches over here. At the same time, he keeps everything light. You know right away, he’s one of those guys who you want to be around. He’s funny, he’s able to talk to anybody, and he’s just one of those magnetic people. So he’s able to combine being demanding with positive reinforcement, and you want to be around him. It’s a unique combination in my view.

The Blues jumped on the chance to hire Jim Montgomery midseason after he was fired by the Boston Bruins. (Cameron Bartlett / Getty Images)

A year ago, you teased us when you said it’ll be an interesting offseason — “It already is.” Did you have an inkling about the offer sheets for Broberg and Holloway at that time? If not, what were you teasing?

That was last May when we spoke, and I didn’t know about the offer sheets yet, but I’ll say it again. I used to hear GMs say, “We’re always trying to improve the club,” and think that’s a bunch of BS and they’re just giving lip service to the fans. But that is actually 100 percent true. There are GMs, especially Doug, they think about doing this and doing that all of the time and they’re actively being talked about. So I don’t know what it was I was referring to last year when I said it was already an interesting offseason, but there’s always stuff like that flying around, especially in May when the season is over way too early and people are wondering how we’re going to get better.

There’s a lot of intrigue again this offseason within the fan base, so are there any more hints you want to drop on us? Do you think Armstrong has a big trade up his sleeve in free agency, trades, offer sheets? 

(Laughing) Well, I think the (Connor) McDavid deal is looking pretty good. When we deal with Edmonton, we go for two, so I think it would be (Leon) Draisaitl, too. But just keep that under wraps. Nah, I’d love to tease you with something, but I’m not going to.

Speaking of the roster, the NHL salary cap is jumping to $95.5 million next season, $104 million in 2026-27 and $113.5 million in 2027-28. What is your take on the dramatic rise, and will Blues ownership continue spending to the cap? 

First, on the rise of the cap, we certainly understand it because it was artificially held down under the CBA that was entered into during COVID. We knew that it was going to rise. At the same time, that’s not easy for a smaller middle-market team like us, so it does present challenges in developing the revenue we need to keep up and remain competitive.

Will we spend to the cap? We will spend to the cap if that’s what makes sense. We’re not going to spend to the cap just so we can say that we spent to the cap. We will be looking at the actual facts and circumstances: where we think we are as a team, who’s available, what’s best in the short term and long term, and just what makes sense.

In your 13 seasons as chairman, you’ve worked hand-in-hand with one man: Armstrong. What are your thoughts on that relationship entering his final year as the GM before Steen takes over?

We are really lucky, really blessed to have the person who I think is the best GM in the league managing the St. Louis Blues. That relationship remains solid and full of respect. While we are changing the GM next year and Steen will take that seat, we will still have Doug here. He is going to be active in doing a lot of work as president. He’s not going to be somebody who suddenly, his mind goes slack, right?

By the same token, Alex’s process of learning how to be a great general manager doesn’t end when he is designated GM. That was all part of this plan as we laid it all out. We still have a great GM there to bring Alex along and even handle some things that Alex doesn’t have to take over for a while. I mean, does Alex have to be in charge of every scout’s contract in his first year as GM? Does he have to be involved in our charter plane arrangements? I want Alex to learn everything in order and be learning from the best as he does it.

How better have you gotten to know Steen over the past year, and what’s your comfort level in him taking over compared to where it might have been when the transition was announced?

He’s much better prepared than he was a year ago, and he’ll be a lot better prepared with another year of work like this under his belt. He’s working really closely with Doug and also learning from everybody else: Peter (Chiarelli), Al (MacInnis), Keith (Tkachuk), Scott (Mellanby). He’s taking it all in from all angles, plus he comes in with his views about what makes a good team and what makes a player the kind of player that we want, that puts the team first. So yeah, I’m very comfortable with the way that he’s progressing.

During the Stanley Cup Final, the NHL and NHLPA both made comments that they’re having positive dialogue about a CBA extension before it expires in September 2026. Do you feel good about the situation, and are there any specifics you’d like to see addressed — playoff salary-cap loophole, etc.?

Well, I’m going to start with something I’ve read from the NHL 30-40 times over my time: “We ask that you not comment on the CBA.” There may be discipline, so I would just say we’ve gotten updates from the league and things seem to be moving along well, and I’m happy to hear that.

In our recent Blues fan survey, 76 percent of them gave Blues ownership an A and 88 percent gave them a B or higher. It’s been seen as a stable group since the day it took over in 2012, but where are you at today? Can fans expect the same leader, same group, same stability for years to come?

I don’t see any real changes. I don’t see anything that’s going to change our approach. We do have to pump up our revenue. That’s really the big imperative. We talked earlier about the cap going up and that creates challenges, but that doesn’t mean that we’re going to start running the club differently, or we’re going to have a crisis in ownership or anything like that. We’re stable.

(Top photo of Tom Stillman and Doug Armstrong: Scott Rovak / NHLI via Getty Images)

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