ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Can you believe it has been five years since the Blues ended 52-years of heartbreak and disappointment and finally won the Stanley Cup?
For many Blues fans across the St. Louis-area, you still remember where you were on June 12, 2019 as the seconds were tickling down, and seeing the Blues players all celebrate on the ice at TD Garden in Boston, surrounding goaltender Jordan Binnington as the clock went to zero.
The story of the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues will forever be a part of sports history, from being dead last in all of the NHL to begin the 2019 calendar year, then going on a 30–10–5 run to finish the season after Binnington had shutout against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan.7, 2019.
That run would not only kickstart the Blues back into the NHL playoffs, it would lead them to the franchise's long-overdue first Stanley Cup ever, defeating the Boston Bruins in seven games.
Andy Strickland, who has covered the Blues and NHL for over 25 years, joined Sports Open Line Monday to look back at the Stanley Cup run.
"Can you believe it's been (almost) 5 years already?," said Strickland. "I don't know if Blues fans are ever going to stop celebrating it here in St. Louis...but the fact it's been five years is just crazy and how fast time flies."
During the discussion, Strickland looked back at the performance Binnington had during the 2019 Stanley Cup run, which was outstanding. In the regular season, Binnington posted a 24-5-1 record, a 1.89 GAA and .927 save percentage in 30 starts. He kept a good run of form in the playoffs, posting a 2.46 GAA and .914 save percentage in the playoffs.
"I'm not sure we will ever see that again," said Strickland. "If anyone has a chance and go back and watch the first period (of Game 7 against the Bruins) alone, it will take you out of your seat. That's about as high level of goaltending as you are ever going to see. He will go down in history to what I think is the greatest Blue goaltender of all time."
While there have been a number of terrific goaltenders to have played for the franchise like Mike Luit, Curtis Joseph, Grant Fuhr, Glenn Hall, Brian Elliott, and more, Strickland believes that Binnington will be able to surpass and achieve many of Blues' records like wins (currently held by Luit at 156) and shutouts (currently held by Elliott at 25) as long as he is still with the franchise.
"As long as he's going to be here, he's going to surpass all those numbers and he is the only goalie to bring the Stanley Cup to St. Louis," said Strickland. "So for that reason alone, I think he is the greatest goaltender in Blues history."