On January 3rd, the St. Louis Blues were in last place of the NHL. On Sunday night, they have a chance to make history. Now, I know this is a wrestling site, but I felt compelled to tell you why this means so much to me and to the city of St. Louis.
Let’s rewind.
Chapter 1 – The History
The St. Louis Blues came into the NHL as apart of the 1967 NHL Expansion and were named after the W.C. Handy song “Saint Louis Blues.” In their first three seasons, the St. Louis Blues made it to the Stanley Cup Finals…only to be swept ALL THREE TIMES. 1970 was the last time the team had even been in the finals, against the Boston Bruins.
The St. Louis Blues are the oldest active NHL team to never win the Stanley Cup.
For the next 49 years, the Blues started to experience heart break. For me, the one that sticks out the most is the 2nd Round matchup of the NHL Playoffs against the Detroit Red Wings in 1996. The St. Louis Blues had Brett Hull, Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger, Geoff Courtnall and the “Great One” Wayne Gretzky. They were the heavy favorites to win the Stanley Cup that year. Then Steve Yzerman happened in Double Overtime in Game 7. It ends up becoming one of the most iconic goals in NHL history and one of the most iconic heart breaks in St. Louis history.
While the Red Wings went on to become a giant dynasty in the NHL, the Blues would continue to sing the Blues. Countless first and second round exits, won the Presidents Trophy (Best Record in the NHL) in 2000 but only to be eliminated in the first round and only visiting the Western Conference Finals twice in 2001 and 2016.
Chapter 2 – Family
Now, you may ask, “How are you still a fan after all of these years?” Simple, it’s a family matter. Growing up, my family has had Season Tickets my entire life. I always got to go to the games. I remember my mom catching a puck when I was 5 years old, going to Union Station before every Blues Playoff game in 2001 with my mom and uncle and to more recent, going to every game with my grandpa and going with my entire family to the NHL Winter Classic.
So many of my fondest memories come from watching the Blues with my family. It’s more than a hockey game to me.
Chapter 3 – The Roller Coaster
The St. Louis Blues would miss the 2017-2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on the last game by one point. Even though we missed the playoffs, the team seemed to be on the rise. In the off season, the Blues sign free agents Tyler Bozak and Pat Maroon and trade for Ryan O’Reilly. The St. Louis Blues became a heavy favorite in the NHL before the season started. Then, the season started…
The Blues struggled and nothing was working. On top of that, the morale for the team was at it’s lowest with locker room issues. No one was getting along. On November 19th, the Blues fired head coach, Mike Yeo, and named Craig Berube the interim head coach for the rest of the year. Still, nothing changed right away, but Berube worked on getting the team to start playing for each other instead of themselves.
“This is the worst season I’ve ever seen by the Blues.” – Randy Karraker of ESPN 101 in St. Louis – in November
“Let’s wait until after the All-Star break to judge this team, a lot can happen.” – Offended Podcast – in November
Chapter 4 – Play Gloria
On January 3rd, halfway through the NHL season, the St. Louis Blues were dead last in the NHL with 34 points. 15-18-4 was their record and with no other choice, they decided to call up rookie goaltender, Jordan Binnington. In his first game, he gets shut out in Philadelphia. On that same road trip in Philadelphia, the Blues discovered the 1980’s song “Gloria” by Laura Branigan while out at a bar. That song would become their anthem as the team decided to play after any game they won.
They started to play that song a lot.
After Binnington’s shut out victory the St. Louis Blues went on an 11-0 run. All of the sudden, the Blues were a force in the NHL. They started playing for each other and became a band of brothers. All-Star Vladimir Tarasenko caught fire along with the rest of the team. After the Blues went 15-18-4, they would go on a run at 30-10-5 to finish the season and claim 3rd in the Central Division.
Chapter 5 – History is Being Made
The Blues would play the Winnipeg Jets in Round One. They would beat them in six games. The Dallas Stars were next and go a full seven games with Game 7 going to Double Overtime. 2nd Round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs going to Double Overtime for the Blues rings a haunting bell to me. Memories of the Yzerman goal immediately pop in my mind. But like Arya Stark would say “Not today.”
St. Louis native Pat Maroon would decide the game with his game winning Double Overtime goal sending the Blues to the Western Conference Finals. Maroon scored on another St. Louis native, Dallas Stars goalie, Ben Bishop. Oh and I forgot to mention, the Blues played the Stars in the 2nd Round in 2016. The Blues also won in seven games.
In 2016, the Blues played the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Finals and lost in six games. And in the Western Conference Finals this year, the Blues played the San Jose Sharks and the series was decided in six games. Only this time, for the first time in 49 years, the St. Louis Blues are heading to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The last time the Blues were in the Stanley Cup Finals was in 1970 against the Boston Bruins. And 49 years later, the Blues will face the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals. The St. Louis Blues have never won a game in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Game 1 comes around and the Blues lost 4-2. Still without a Stanley Cup Finals win, the Blues finally make franchise history with a goal by “BOOM BOOM” Carl Gunnarson in Overtime to give the Blues a 3-2 win in Game 2.
The series is tied and we are heading to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4. St. Louis city was absolutely rocking before Game 3. The excitement and once in a lifetime feel was in the air. As I sat in my seat at Enterprise Center before the game started, I took a deep breath and time kind of stopped for me. The sound in my ears went out, I looked around and took it all in. I started to think about all of the memories I had with my family over the years with the Blues. I was at a Stanley Cup Finals game, something I had only dreamed about.
The lights went out and the hype videos started. Then the “Hey Buddy, We’re Back” video started and I couldn’t fight back the tears. It hit me hard as this is just so much more than a hockey game, and not just for me, but for the entire city. Game 3 started and it could have went better as the Blues lost 7-2. But I was just grateful and humble to have experienced a Stanley Cup Finals game.
The Blues were known to bounce back in this years playoffs but could they do it after a 7-2 loss? You’re god damn right! The Blues would win Game 4 in dominate fashion 4-2 and would win a nail biting Game 5, 2-1.
The St. Louis Blues are now one win away from making history. One win away from raising Lord Stanley’s Cup. One win away from making dreams come true. Do it for the Franchise, do it for the fans and for the fans that are no longer with us, do it for Charles Glenn as he will sing his last National Anthem ever on Sunday, do it for the city of St. Louis, do it for Laila, do it for Bobby, Brett, Bernie, Al, Kelly and the rest of the faithful alumni, do it for our dreams to come true.
Lord Stanley’s Cup will be in the building on Sunday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
Hey buddy, it’s time.
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