from Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St, Louis Post-Dispatch,

Joined by his wife, Mary, and several members of the Blues’ ownership group, Chairman Tom Stillman struggled to contain his emotions as he watched his players celebrate late Monday at Scottrade Center.

He surveyed the crowd and breathed in the thunderous atmosphere. Those were his players hugging and celebrating on the ice. Equally important to him, if not more: Those were his people dancing, yelling and rejoicing among the standing-room-only crowd of 19,935.

Stillman celebrated in his suite after the Blues eliminated the defending NHL champion Blackhawks in Game 7. Then the moment sunk in, sending a few tears down his cheek.

“It was very emotional,” Stillman said. “We very much wanted to break through, and we felt like that was just an important thing for our franchise to accomplish. So it was a release of tension and anxiety and a relief. And then just happiness.”

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