ST. LOUIS — When St. Louis Blues chairman Tom Stillman introduced Alexander Steen as the team’s new general manager last Tuesday, he reflected on all the qualities Steen showed during his playing career.Steen, 42, played 15 NHL seasons, including 12 in St. Louis, from 2008 to 2020.“Alex Steen had an impressive career as a player — one of the best in Blues’ history,” Stillman said. “As a player, you always knew how focused Alex was on team culture. You always knew about Alex’s leadership role on those teams and how much the other players respected him. He is an outstanding person — as solid as they come — and he couldn’t be more devoted to the Blues and St. Louis. He’s just a natural leader, and I’m confident that he’s going to be an excellent GM.”Former Blues general manager Doug Armstrong, who paved the way for Steen’s promotion, echoed Stillman.“Alex just doesn’t see the game from a players’ perspective,” Armstrong said. “He sees it from a holistic perspective. He shares the same values I do about the way you have to care about each other. One thing that I admire about Alex — he can go out for a couple of beers with the young guys, then go have dinner with the older players and then have their kids over to his house. Not everyone can walk that path, and that’s a quality that’s going to do him very well in management.”NHL free agency: Early winners and losersShayna Goldman and Madison EadesTo learn more about the reputation Steen developed in St. Louis, The Athletic talked to nine people who are either former teammates of his or close to him: Paul Stastny, Barret Jackman, Robert Bortuzzo, David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Ryan O’Reilly, Jake Allen, Robert Thomas and Brett Hull.Here’s what they had to say.(Note: Responses have been edited lightly for length and clarity)Which of Steen’s traits sticks out the most to you?Backes: Well, playing with him, he had a tireless work ethic, and he’s a brilliant hockey mind in how he sees the game technically.Hull: He’s incredibly intelligent, not only as a human being, but as a hockey mind. He’s very stoic, very smart, very calculated under the radar.Bortuzzo: His knowledge for the game is like no one I’ve ever conversed with. He’s just so passionate about the X’s and O’s.O’Reilly: One of the first things when I got traded here was seeing his just leadership, his pulse on things. You could see that he sees the game on a different level, all the details, and he would see that and discuss it.Allen: The moment you meet the guy, or you hang out with him as a player, as a person, he’s a hockey guy through and through. He was so committed to the Blues when he was a player — playing hurt, whatever role he needed to do. He was committed to the organization every single day to get a little bit better.Stastny: He’s just always thinking about the game. He just always has a big-picture approach of what’s best for the team. After the game, he would always be thinking, “What could we have done better?” — if we had won, if we had lost. He was a very smart hockey player, very intellectual and a good listener. He was always willing to take in different opinions, digest them, and have that mentality where it’s team first, me second.