Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
It’s hard to believe how far Tom Stillman has brought the Blues. When he took the helm, in May 2012, the team had significant financial concerns. Several months later, the NHL had a lockout. Nonetheless, Stillman had big ambitions: “We have two overriding goals: No. 1, win the Stanley Cup,” he told SLM in 2013, at a time when the team was in a 45-year drought. “The second is to make sure the Blues franchise is stable and sustainable here in St. Louis for years to come.” With that first objective achieved—and an all-local ownership group behind him—the Blues chairman/governor is now looking to the future.
What was it like when the team finally won the Stanley Cup? Unlike other sports, when you win the Stanley Cup, you take it home, and that [plane] ride, with the small group, was really special. I couldn’t stop turning around to see it right there.
Was there a moment with fans that stands out for you? My wife told me about some good friends of ours who were watching the seventh game on TV. The husband was a longtime fan, and after we won, he was just kind of quiet. He was thinking about his dad and how much he would’ve loved to have had him there for that. There was this outpouring of emotions that had been building for 50 years. You were seeing men crying on the parade route. There’s a great photo of someone holding an urn of ashes of their deceased father. It was quite remarkable.
You’re bringing back most of the team this season. Is there a concern about complacency? In most cases, after a team wins, what we’ve seen is, they have salary cap problems. I think that has led to the dismantling of championship teams, more than a desire to change things up. We are fortunate that we don’t have those problems. We can bring virtually the whole team back. I think that is the more desirable outcome. The other factor is that we have a lot of young guys who played an important role, whether it’s Vince Dunn or Samuel Blais or Robert Thomas. A lot of times, teams will want to bring some youth in for the speed and energy, but we already have that—and we have a few more young players on the bubble of making the roster.
How will winning the Stanley Cup affect this season? I think it gives you some swagger. It also probably helps you get through adversity, whether it’s a tough period or a losing streak. But the other side of it is that we’re not going to surprise anybody: When teams are playing the defending Stanley Cup champion, they’re going to be bringing their A-games.
