How will the Bruins be different next season? – ProHockeyTalk



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ST. LOUIS (AP) – At the age of 100, Marge Kirchhoefer is one of the oldest blues fans in St. Louis. Now that they are Stanley Cup champions, she knows exactly how she will celebrate.

"It's too good to be true," said Kirchhoefer. "I have friends and we all party together. We are going to drink champagne. I can be charged! I'm mad.

There are plenty of them in St. Louis, now that the Blues have eliminated the Boston Bruins to win their first NHL championship since joining the team as an expansion team 52 years ago. The 4-1 win in the seventh game Wednesday night in Boston triggered a raging party late into the morning of Thursday.

And why not? After all, the wait for blues fans has been long and the few difficult years for St. Louis sports fans in general.

Until this year, the Blues had never won a game in the Stanley Cup finals. They had not even reached the final since 1970, the last of a three-year series that ended with the all-new Blues, a modest 0-12, swept twice by Montreal and once by the Bruins.

In recent days, St. Louis has lost two NFL franchises: the Cardinals against Arizona in 1988 and the Rams against Los Angeles in 2016. To justify a move that seemed superficial to violate league directives, a Rams' owner's lawyer (and from Missouri) Stan Kroenke wrote a scathing and widely contested report that described St. Louis as an economic hell for sports franchises.

The beloved Cardinals of St. Louis won the World Series titles in 1982, 2006 and 2011, and the National League pennants in 1985, 1987, 2004 and 2013. But they missed the playoffs three years in a row and have been mediocre this season. Cardinals find themselves in the unusual position of sitting at the back.

Blues are the toast of the city.

Fans have filled the Enterprise Center even for the playoff games on the road, just to be together and watch on the dashboard screen. Bars and Ballpark Village, next to Busch Stadium, were filled with rabid blues fans every game. For the seventh game, the Enterprise Center and Busch Stadium were filled with spectators watching the game on the scoreboard.

On Saturday, a parade will honor the new hockey champions. Nearly one million people are expected to line the downtown streets, followed by a rally under the Gateway Arch.

Such a celebration seemed to be only a pipe dream six months ago.

On January 3rd, at mid-season, the Blues had the worst record in the NHL. Coach Mike Yeo was sacked in November and interim coach Craig Berube barely improved.

Then Jordan Binnington, a 25-year-old rookie goalie, was called and began to dominate. The team in front of him slowly attacked the wealthy and tough outside of Bérubé, a former NHL official. The Blues not only played in the playoffs, they beat Winnipeg, Dallas and San Jose to earn a shot at the Cup. After missing a chance to win the home championship on Sunday, the resilient Blues won in Boston for the third time in the series.

Kirchhoefer said she sometimes attended games with her grandson's family, a house in which the Blues rule so supremely that they have a bright goal in the living room. When the Blues score a goal, the light goes out and a siren sounds.

"It's like being there," said Kirchhoefer. "I get goose bumps when these games are so tight. Oh my!"

Kirchhoefer, who served as director of the oil company before retiring in 1984, attended games with his late husband, Frank, who died in 2002. His love for the team grew as he saw the excitement of his company. Grandson, who was looking for arrowheads and was selling that they are paying for the tickets.

"It's a once in a lifetime," Kirchhoefer said. "They (the Blues) tried so hard, to be very low and ride like that, it was wonderful."

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