Stanley Cup anniversary: Blues players share untold stories from Game 7 & beyond

On June 12, 2019, the Blues celebrated the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in Boston. In the one year since, fans have probably watched and re-watched every highlight and relived every memory.

But with the anniversary fast approaching recently, The Athletic figured there had to be some untold stories from the hours leading up to Game 7 and the day itself. So we sent messages to nearly everyone on the roster and heard back from 20 of them.

Here are their stories, which have been edited for clarity.

Alexander Steen

For me, I’ll never forget the flight to Boston for Game 7. If you look back on things, having won Game 5, there was a lot of anticipation and excitement in St. Louis getting ready for Game 6. It was different. It was a lot emotionally and physically. But for whatever reason, we were always good at bouncing back, especially with the way (Jordan Binnington) played after a loss. And it’s like we got on that plane and we just went back to who we were as a group, joking around and playing cards and guys were walking up and down the aisle on the flight.

When we landed in Boston, I was talking to (Robert Bortuzzo) and (Ryan O’Reilly), and it just felt like, “We’re going to have a really good game! We’re going to give ourselves a good shot at winning this thing.” Obviously you don’t know the outcome and there are so many factors and things that go on in a game, but we felt like we were going to have a good Game 7. It was a moment I’ll remember for sure.

Carl Gunnarsson

We had a group of guys that went out to dinner together during the Finals. It was me, (Alexander Steen), (Colton) Parayko, (Oskar) Sundqvist and (Chris) Thorburn. So we get into Boston, and I can’t remember what we did before Game 1, but Game 2, we find this sushi spot and have dinner there. It was funny because they had this steak on the menu, and we ordered a little skewer of it, and they gave you a certificate with the cow’s name and age and who the cow’s mother was, the whole schpiel, and it was really specific. We were all like, “Oh man, I’ve never seen this before.”

So we had a good time, and we won Game 2 in Boston, so when we go back to Boston for Game 5, (Chris) Thorburn is pushing us, like, “Guys, let’s do it again, same spot.” He said, “Gunny, you scored that goal here in Game 2, let’s go back.” I was like, “Alright, the food was good and we had a good time,” so we went back to the same place. We ordered skewers again, and got the name of another cow — and all the info — and then we win Game 5. So then Game 7 comes, and we’re all like, “Are we doing this?” So we did it for Game 7, too, and that restaurant was 3-for-3.

Carl Gunnarsson, Colton Parayko, Oskar Sundqvist, Alexander Steen and Chris Thorburn went to dinner at the same restaurant in Boston (shown here) before Games 2, 5 and 7. (Photo courtesy of Thorburn).

Jake Allen

The night before Game 7, we were in Boston at our hotel. In the playoffs, you’re stuck in a hotel both home and away, so you’re tight-knit; you’re doing a lot of things together. They always give us one room, like a “team suite” where everyone can hang out together instead of 20 of us in the same hotel room. Well, we have a pretty loose group, a pretty relaxed group, and that night before Game 7 we were sitting there, drinking some wine, having some ice cream and playing some cards. We had a majority of the guys in there having a good time, and the next thing you know, it 10:30, 11 o’clock and we were like, “Oh shit, we have a game tomorrow — Game 7 — the biggest game of our lives.”

So we went back to our rooms, and once I got back to my mine, I had the utmost confidence in the world that we were going to win. No one was overthinking the game. It was still the exact same game as every other playoff game and road game that we had during the year. We were having fun, we weren’t really talking about hockey, and when I got back to my room, it all sort of clicked. I just knew that we had the right mentality heading into that game. It’s interesting because most people think you’re in bed at 7 o’clock, not eating ice cream and having a couple of glasses of wine, getting a good night’s sleep and up bright and early. But that’s just the group that we had. It’s a cool picture to look back on.

David Perron

I don’t really get nervous for hockey games, but I was more nervous than usual, so I was trying to stay in the moment and do the same routine to stay calm. The summer before, I had gotten into fishing, and if I ever needed to make sure that I wasn’t getting ahead of myself, I would go on YouTube and look at fishing techniques. There’s a lot of things to learn, doing all the knots, different ways to cast and different techniques, and watching the videos; it’s so boring you have to be calm. I found throughout the playoffs, if I was feeling the excitement, that worked for me.

So on the day of Game 7, I could have played that morning, I could have played in the afternoon … I could have played at any point that day. When you’re around people, at the morning skate or the pregame meal, things were normal. But when you went to your room, your mind can get away really quick. So just laying there in bed that afternoon, that’s what I was doing, watching fishing videos, just trying to stay in the moment.

Vince Dunn

Chief (coach Craig Berube) had a lot of speeches throughout the year, and most of the time when he walked away, you knew exactly what he meant. There was nothing really to discuss for anyone after he spoke many times. With that one before Game 7, we knew exactly what he wanted out of us. I think just his confidence going into the game, how he handled that situation, he wasn’t nervous. He didn’t try to change his speeches for a big game like that. He kind of just rolled with it and I think his confidence trickled down into every one of us, and it was really easy to just go out there and give it all we got. I think going into Game 6, we didn’t play the style that we wanted to. We were way too serious, and we were looking way too far ahead, and I think when Game 7 came, it was like, “This is actually our time — let’s do this!”

Colton Parayko

One of the things I remember the most from Game 7 was the national anthem, just standing on the ice. It kind of hit me right then. It was like a quick flashback of my whole hockey life: playing minor hockey, then all of a sudden you’re playing in juniors, then college and then you’re playing in the NHL. It brought everything full-circle, how far everything had come for me individually, seeing people lift the Stanley Cup and now you’re in Game 7.

It kind of hit me weird in the anthem. It was different than all the other anthems I’ve been a part of. The anthem is not that long, but it seemed like I had forever to think. I glanced over the season that we had, and how it all came together and this was it. This is actually Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in Boston, and it was surreal. I’ve never really had that, where it felt like a flash of a picture.

Robby Fabbri

I knew I wasn’t playing in Game 7. I was going to be a healthy scratch and in the press box. I think I stood there with (Chris Butler) for most of it and we didn’t take a seat once. It was just one of those things: any bounce, any hit, any shot … you felt it in the whole arena. It’s just something you can’t explain when you’re watching. I’ve never felt like that watching a hockey game before. We had a good group of guys watching it, having some fun and trying to stay loose, but I was definitely sweating through my suit.

I remember, we went down to the locker room about three-quarters of the way through the third period, ran down like a bunch of kids going to play at Chuck E. Cheese. We were putting our gear on and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten dressed so fast, just so excited to get out there and celebrate with the guys. We cracked open a beer while we were getting dressed, and watching them cart in the champagne and get everything ready, it was awesome. I guess if you’re not going to be in the game and you want to see a little bit of the behind-the-scenes stuff, it was pretty cool.

Mackenzie MacEachern

For a guy in my position, kind of how (Fabbri) touched on, we were in the press box and we didn’t know what to do. I don’t remember the exact score at the time, but we were like, “Do we go down now?” We didn’t want to get stuck in the elevator and miss anything. I remember on the elevator down, we were just kind of like, “This isn’t happening,” and then we get down there and the equipment managers are like, “Get dressed, get dressed!” In the back of your head, you want to get dressed as fast as you can because you want to be with the team as soon as the buzzer goes off. But I’m thinking, “I don’t want to get fully dressed and somehow jinx the team.”

As soon as it got to the two-minute mark, though, I kind of relaxed and thought, “Oh my Lord, this is actually happening.” We were behind the bench, so we saw the zeros hit on the clock, and to see everyone’s emotion was pretty crazy. It stunk down the stretch, not playing, but the guys on the team never made you feel left out. They always kept the spirits high, so even though I wasn’t right down there in the action at the end, they made it feel like I was.

Jordan Binnington

The final countdown to the celebration, the last couple of minutes, where we had the 4-0, 4-1 lead, you’re just thinking how you’re going to celebrate. You just feel the rush of emotions that you’ve been holding onto throughout the whole journey. Once that final buzzer goes, hugging (Brayden Schenn) right away, and just everyone crowding around the net. It’s just a blur and everyone has little things to say. I remember, (O’Reilly) just saying, “That was unbelievable!” Just to see how happy everyone was, it was a very proud moment for everyone, and only we really know how much we went through to get there. I think for me personally, just a lot of gratefulness, and it felt like finishing the biggest project you’ve ever done.

Alex Pietrangelo

It was kind of a blur, but when (NHL commissioner Gary Bettman) gave me the Cup, I remember him saying, “Congratulations!” You don’t know how heavy it is if you’ve never lifted it, so I was kind of thinking, “OK, don’t do anything stupid, don’t drop it, don’t make a fool of yourself.” I don’t know if it’s because I was exhausted, but it was actually heavier than I thought it was. It’s something you dream of as a kid, and I realize it more now than I did then, that I was really the first Blue to lift the Cup, but at the time, you’re so in the moment. When you start looking at all the special players and guys that have tried to be the first one, it’s pretty special. But at the time, it was just relief, relief that we won and relief that it was over.

I didn’t really want to parade it around. For me, it took so much as a group from where we were to win this thing, I felt everybody should get their hands on it as quickly as possible. People had asked me the week prior who I would give the Cup to if we won, and honestly, I hadn’t really thought about it, but it wasn’t very hard to come up with the guy — (Jay Bouwmeester) because he’s waited a lot longer than I have for this thing. Bouw and I have accomplished a lot together, going to the Olympics and World Cup, and there was no better way for me than to share it with that guy. He means a lot to me, he knows that, and I could go on and on. But if that is the way it ends up for him, that’s one heck of a way to go out on top.

Chris Thorburn

Mine starts out pregame, but it’s nuts how it all happened. The guys were eating the pre-game meal and I was in the lobby of the hotel, you know, like they have the couches there at the Ritz. So I was just sitting on the couch, playing on my phone, and David Perron came from behind the curtain and he’s like, “Thorbs, be ready buds, it’s happening tonight.” I’m like, “Well dude, yeah, go get your rest and good luck!” Then he’s like, “No, you’re putting on your equipment tonight!” I’m like, “Holy shit, it’s going to happen?” Then it does happen and the team is passing the Stanley Cup around on the ice, and Perron is the one snow-plowing me to the front of the line. He’s like, “I’m not taking the Cup before you! Go! Go!” I’m like, “Dude, go do your thing, I’ll get my turn,” but he’s got me where I’m damn-near snow-plowing to the Cup.

So I end up getting the Cup from (Steen) and then I’m able to hand it off to (Perron), who did that for me. I think there was even some commentary on TV, saying, “I can’t understand why Thorburn has got it.” I mean, I’m getting it before (O’Reilly) and Tyler Bozak, and no one could understand it. But yeah, the way it all worked out — from (Perron) telling me it was going to happen to it actually happening, then him pushing me to the front of the line, and then handing it off to him … that is a story that I’ll never forget. It goes back to the way the guys treated me and made me feel part of it, and that’s an example of it.

Zach Sanford

Going through the playoffs, I didn’t play much and (Blues assistant coach Steve Ott) was kind of mentoring me, “Stay ready, stay ready, something is going to happen, it always does.” So (Oskar Sundqvist) gets suspended for Game 3 and Otter told me all the coaches and staff were sitting down saying “Who’s going to go in?” and they were going back and forth on who it was going to be. He said, “Sanny is ready to go, he wants it, he needs to go in.”

I went in, and I think I helped out the team as much as I could and things went well. When I scored (in Game 7), I got back to the bench and Otter was right there, and with everything that happened with me personally that year, to share that moment was pretty cool. After the game, I went up to him and just told him, “Thank you for believing in me and giving me that shot.” He was like, “I knew the whole time you were ready.” We got a big hug in and we were both so excited … he was so proud of me. From there on out, this whole year, he and I have been pretty tight. He’s helped me through a lot of stuff on and off the ice.

Robert Bortuzzo

If you ask a lot of guys, the dressing room was probably their favorite part because it turned into a moment for not only the players, but everyone in the organization. We all had our chance to drink and cheer for each other, and no one wanted it to end, so we grabbed these people that were a part of it. Tom Stillman is the owner, and you ask anyone in this organization, he’s held in high regard. So from Stillman to (director of digital content Chris Pinkert), they would end up in the middle, sipping out of the Cup, just being doused with beer, and everyone chanting their name. Those are the ones that stuck out for me because it was “Stilly,” and then “Pinky.”

It was just a cool moment because we had all celebrated ourselves, so let’s bring them into the mayhem. Walking out of the locker room and seeing the aftermath, I couldn’t even begin to guess how many beers were consumed, or maybe just one sip and then thrown all over someone. But if you ask any player in the league, that’s probably a road dressing room that needs a revamping.

Enjoy these moments, Tom. And thank you for helping bring a #StanleyCup to St. Louis. #stlblues #WeAllBleedBlue pic.twitter.com/dXUA29hOX7

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 13, 2019

Sammy Blais

The night before every game on the road, me and (Vince Dunn), we always have our own room, and it was like a ritual: I always went in his room or he always came in my room. I remember I was in Dunner’s room that night before Game 7. I was sitting on the couch and he was in his bed and we were eating ice cream. We both took the same kind of ice cream, chocolate for both, and we were laughing about it. So we were just chilling together, and we were telling each other, “Tomorrow, we can become Stanley Cup champions.”

We were just so happy for each other, and when we won, along with MacKenzie MacEachern, who we started pro hockey with on the Chicago Wolves, it was like really nice for us. Four years ago, we were in Chicago, and last year we became Stanley Cup champions together. We were just so happy for each other, and I just remember it was the best day of my life.

Chris Butler

I have two, and they both involve the Bortuzzo family. No. 1, I had a bottle of whiskey that I had saved for a special occasion. I flew home for the birth of my second child, who was born the day before Game 7 of the Dallas series, and I brought two bottles of whiskey back. One to share with the guys in the hotel lounge area, hanging out and having fun, and one was going to be if we won the Stanley Cup. So I take my bottle of whiskey out on the ice and I’m sharing it with a bunch of the guys. Then I gave it to Bortuzzo’s dad (Oscar), and he started just slugging it, and (Bortuzzo) pretty much grabbed it out of his hands and said, “Dad, enough already, it’s fucking expensive.”

So there’s that story and then there’s one where (Bortuzzo) and I went on the ice, and I don’t even know who took the picture, but the two of us are just standing in beer-stained T-shirts and flip-flops out at center-ice, having a beer and a smile. And then some security guard came out of nowhere and told us to get off the ice. We were just like, “Fuck you, pal, we’re not getting off the ice.” So yeah, two stories involving the Bortuzzo family and two F-bombs … typical Italians.

Oskar Sundqvist

I remember going into the locker room and I was standing in the other room, where we change clothes. I was going through my phone real quick and I get a knock on my back. I turn around and it’s (GM Doug Armstrong). I was kind of surprised. I don’t even know where he came from actually. I was in the room and I didn’t see anyone else, and all of a sudden he came up from behind. He’s like, “Screw Pittsburgh, right?” I’m like, “Yeah, screw them!” We were both laughing and hugging each other. It was cool that (the Blues) believed in me. That was something that I remember. It was a funny time.

Ryan O’Reilly

I remember as we were getting ready for the bus after the game, everyone was kind of showering up, me and (Pat Maroon) were in the shower. I think we were the last two getting changed. I just remember being in the shower with him and I think we had beers in there. Yeah, I just remember talking to him and just being like, “Can you believe we actually did this?” It was just kind of funny how we were the last two, laughing, and having a beer!

Brayden Schenn

Something that comes to mind would be the plane ride home from Boston to St. Louis and having the Stanley Cup centered right in the middle of the two card tables. There’s normally eight guys that sit there and you had 15 guys around the card table. It was a full-on party; there were guys everywhere, laughing and drinking beers and telling stories. You had (Ryan) O’Reilly with the Conn Smythe Trophy sitting right in front of him. You’re just thinking to yourself, “Wow, did this really happen?” It’s funny, now you have the videos saved on your phone popping up from a year ago. I think that’s going to be one of the cooler things, the flight back from Boston, how big of a party it was, and you’re literally staring at the Stanley Cup, and having a helluva a time with the guys.

Jaden Schwartz holds the Stanley Cup at the card table on the team’s flight home from Boston after Game 7. (Photo courtesy of the St. Louis Blues)

Tyler Bozak

I would also say the flight home, I’ve never been part of a flight like that. I just remember us partying, drinking out of the Cup, passing it around, lots of laughs, singing songs and just in shock at what just happened. I’m not a great flyer, so I remember looking around during the flight and I don’t know if there was anybody in their seat. Everyone was standing up, coaches, whoever it may be, and because I get anxiety, I remember being a little worried if the weight of the plane was going to be off. Just to be part of that, they were two hours you got to spend with your teammates and everyone involved, and that was cool because after that, you don’t really get that close-knit time with the guys that were all part of the victory. You just sat there and you couldn’t really believe what we went through the whole year to be where we were.

Joel Edmundson

I remember when our plane landed in St. Louis, we went over to meet all the fans at the gate. By the time we got there, all our voices were gone already, but we were doing all these chants and all the fans were loving it. I remember Robby Fabbri, he was wearing a three-piece burgundy suit that he got from his uncle’s shop in Toronto. They don’t come cheap — it’s probably $2,000-plus — and he’s jumping around with the fans. He’s got the dress pants on, but no coat, no dress shirt and he had the vest on inside-out. The lining of the vest is a New York theme with the street lights and signs, and he’s got it on inside-out, like a tank-top. I’ll never forget, he came off the plane like that, went into the crowd like that, and then got on the bus like that … he wore it like that the whole night.

For Blues fans, it was a fun ride the first time, and hopefully this look back on the one-year anniversary made it even more enjoyable!

(Top photo by Michael Tureski / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)