One year ago, the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup

It’s easy to say that it feels like time has stopped right now, especially with COVID-19 postponing the NHL playoffs. Things have slowed to a crawl, but take a second and remember where we were a year ago tonight.

Does it feel like a year ago? Or does it feel like just yesterday?

Some fans waited fifty-two years for June 12. 2019. Some fans waited for a much shorter period of time - but one that was still informed with fifty two years of shortcoming and frustration.

Winning the Stanley Cup brings to mind many words for many fans, but “jubilation” and “cleansing” come quickly to mind. It’s freedom from years of tempered expectations. We feel like it’s ok to hope again.

It’s been cruel for Blues fans to not have the opportunity to yet see their team defend the Cup, because now we can believe that a Cup defense is not just possible, it’s likely.

The team today is similar to where it was last year. Justin Faulk, Anthony Scandella are new. Joel Edmundson and Robby Fabbri have been traded. The biggest missing part is undeniably Jay Bouwmeester, whose absence is felt on the ice and in the locker room. Overall, though, there’s no reason that this team couldn’t repeat. Hell, they weren’t even supposed to be in the playoffs last year before they turned their season around; other than a slump in January this year, the Blues haven’t looked like they remotely lost a step between June 12th of last year and when the season wrapped up in March.

The Blues winning the Cup is undeniably the greatest thing to happen to the franchise and its fans and easily one of the greatest moments in St. Louis sports history. It’s also so much than that. A weight is off our shoulders, the chip is gone.

Keep re-living the magic. It’s not living in the past, it’s hoping for the future.

They did it once, they can do it again.