It’s only been six years since the St. Louis Blues won their first and only Stanley Cup. A lot has happened since then. The Blues are coming off a short rebuild, making the playoffs in 2025 after two consecutive years of being on the outside.
Since their 2019 championship, the Blues have made the playoffs four times, but have never made it out of the Second Round. They’ve also seen two coaching changes, and several of their stars have left the franchise. Now, we’re going to turn back the clock to see what happened when the Blues hoisted the Stanley Cup.
Other Sporting Champions in 2019
NBA Champion
The Blues were not the first team of the Big Four sports to win their first championship in 2019. The Toronto Raptors won their first NBA Championship against a tough Golden State Warriors team that had made the NBA Finals five times and had won three championships at that point.
In the playoffs, Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard made one of the most memorable shots in NBA history against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. That shot won them the series and pushed the Raptors to the Eastern Conference Final, where they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. Leonard also won Finals MVP that year.
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In the 2018-19 season, the Raptors were not expected to make the Finals, let alone hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. They had only ever made it as far as the Eastern Conference Finals until former president, Masai Ujiri, and general manager Bobby Webster made a franchise-changing trade that saw longtime guard Demar DeRozan, center Jakob Poeltl, and a protected 2019 first-round pick go to the San Antonio Spurs for Leonard and guard Danny Green.
MLB Champions
The Washington Nationals also won their first World Series pennant in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2019, beating the Houston Astros 4-3 in a hard-fought series.
Leading up to this victory, the Nationals started the playoffs in a National League Wild Card (NLWC) game and won it 4-3 over the Milwaukee Brewers to advance to the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Nationals beat the Dodgers in the five-game series, 3-2, winning the series-deciding game, 7-3. Now, if you’re a St. Louis Cardinals fan, you won’t like remembering this one. The Nationals advanced to the National League Conference Series (NLCS) against the Cardinals and…
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