One of the most iconic trophies in sports made a stop in Sarnia on Friday afternoon.
St. Louis Blues GM and Sarnia native Doug Armstrong brought the Stanley Cup to town, much to the delight of hundreds of fans lining the downtown alleyway near Limbo Lounge.
The Blues defeated the Boston Bruins to capture the trophy in seven games. It was the franchise's first championship in its 52-year history.
They came all the way back from being last place in the NHL in January.
Armstrong said it means the world to him to be able to share the team's cup win with the community.
"It's always great to share it with the people that mean the most to you," said Armstrong. "You know, I grew up and spent my whole youth in Sarnia and had a great time here and to come back and share it with people means everything."
The 54-year-old Armstrong has been with the Blues since 2008 and took over the team's GM duties in 2010 following the retirement of Larry Pleau.
Prior to joining St. Louis, Armstrong spent 14 seasons with the Dallas Stars organization, after first being hired by the Minnesota North Stars in 1992.
He was the assistant GM on the cup-winning Stars team in 1999 that included Wyoming's Pat Verbeek, former Sarnia Sting Jonathan Sim and current Sting owner Derian Hatcher who captained the squad.
Armstrong said both cup wins were special, but the one this past year meant even more to the Blues fans.
"When I look back on it, when we were in Dallas we had just moved there in 1993-94 so we won relatively quickly," he said. "In St. Louis it was 52 years so there's a lot of scar tissue built up in St. Louis. Both were very special, but it was a lot more nerve-wracking in St. Louis because they had waited so long."
The Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP was also on hand. That was won by Clinton, Ontario's Ryan O'Reilly after he put up 8 goals and 15 assists in 26 games.
Fans had the opportunity to get photos taken with both trophies for a $5 donation toward local sports programs.
Armstrong's impressive resume also includes being part of Hockey Canada's management group that won Olympic gold medals in 2010 and 2014.
His 86-year-old dad, Neil, was a linesman for over 22 years, officiating a total of 1,744 games and holds the "Ironman" record for most consecutive games officiated.
Armstrong plans to take the cup to celebrate with his dad over the weekend.
"I'm looking forward to taking it over, we're going to spend some time with him Saturday. He's doing ok, and hopefully, it will be a great day for him."
Armstrong is optimistic about the team's chances next year.
"We're going to bring back pretty well the same team, the guys have earned the right to come back. We're going to go from the hunter to the hunted and so that will be a different challenge for us. I know the guys are excited, they're enjoying the summer but also ready to get back to work."
Blues Amateur Scout Dan Ginnell is also from Sarnia, while Assistant Coach Mike Van Ryn played for the Sting in 1999-00.
-With files from Colin Gowdy
The #StanleyCup had arrived in Sarnia! #StanleyCupTracker | #MoreThanAGame pic.twitter.com/xD0Xx5Iy8g
— Sarnia Sting (@StingHockey) July 26, 2019