Maroon savors winning Stanley Cup with hometown Blues

BOSTON --Pat Maroon's eyes welled up as the reality of becoming a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues settled in.

The forward, who is from St. Louis, grew up with his father, Pat, and brothers, Phil and Justin, attending Blues games, at times sitting on his dad's lap to watch Brett Hull, Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis. But Maroon couldn't have imagined being a part of the first Cup championship in the Blues' 51-season history after they defeated the Boston Bruins
4-1 in Game 7
of the Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on Wednesday.
"We've been waiting for this for so many freaking years," Maroon said. "And to be from St. Louis and put this sweater on every night, holy cow. We brought it. We brought it home."
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Maroon had seven points (three goals, four assists) in 26 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including scoring the game-winning goal in the second overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Dallas Stars, after signing a one-year contract with his hometown Blues on July 10, 2018, leaving more money on the table to be closer with his family.
While handling the Cup on the ice, Maroon brought it down for his 10-year-old son, Anthony, to kiss.
"It's amazing. Look at him," Maroon said. "Who wouldn't want it like that being from St. Louis, signed in St. Louis, winning the Stanley Cup and bringing it home, being with my family and friends? I can't wait for these next few days. This is truly something I'll never forget. Me and my son will take this to our grave. We'll have memories for life."

It was quite the ending to the season for St. Louis, which sat in last place in the NHL standings on Jan. 3.
"I can't even fathom what this is going to be like these next few days with these fans. These fans deserve it more than anyone," Maroon said. "We did it! We did. There's nothing else. We put everything on the line from January 3rd on, and we deserve this. What a way to finish it off on the road where we play great, and all these people, all these media doubted us all year long."
When asked if the one-year contract paid off, Maroon smiled and said, "What do you think? Yeah, it paid off."
Maroon can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but said the thought of leaving isn't an option.
"No, I want more now, because once you get one (Cup), you want two," he said. "Hopefully, I can stay here. Obviously, I'm a free agent now. This is home for me now. I won something here. This is home for me."