Did Oskar Sundqvist Play Final Game In St. Louis On Tuesday? With Uncertain Future, Stanley Cup Champion Took It All In During 7-5 Home Finale Win

· Yahoo Sports

ST. LOUIS – During all the fireworks of a 7-5 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the home finale on Tuesday, Oskar Sundqvist caught himself in alone moments trying to take it all in.

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The St. Louis Blues forward, who scored a goal and was in the starting lineup for coach Jim Montgomery’s side, would in moments of his own, find himself looking around Enterprise Center, taking in the 18,096 in attendance wondering with an unknown future, would this be the last time the 32-year-old who was part of this franchise’s first Stanley Cup title in 2019, suit up in front of the home crowd for the final time?

“A couple times,” Sundqvist said he he looked around. “The future is obviously uncertain. It’s been kind of an emotional day. It’s been my home for a while now. I love this city and these people from Day 1. Obviously you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Sundqvist played in his 52nd and what could have been his final game of the season on Tuesday; the Blues (36-33-12) have one game left Thursday in Salt Lake City against the Utah Mammoth. He’s spent eight of his 11 seasons in the NHL with the Blues, including this, his second stint, which has included the past three seasons.

From the moment they acquired him from the Penguins in 2017, along with a first-round pick (Klim Kostin) that sent Ryan Reaves to Pittsburgh at the draft that year, it’s veen a love affair for the Boden, Sweden native, who met his now wife Blake here; the couple recently welcomed a daughter into the world.

But Sundqvist has always been a gamer for the Blues; coach Jim Montgomery earlier this season called the versatile center the team’s “binkie.”

He built his game into one that produced one of the most effective fourth lines with Alexander Steen and Ivan Barbashev that helped the Blues win the Cup in 2019 to a mentor, cherished and popular teammate that will head into an uncertain summer with his current two-year contract set to expire July 30.

“I have always valued Oskar Sundqvist,” Montgomery said. ‘Oskar Sundqvist is a player you win with. He makes your competitive fire on your team, how hard you play, how smart your team plays. That’s his strength. Last game he played in Chicago, he had the two best back-checks of the night. Breaks up two great plays because of his effort and his desire to make sure your team wins. And whenever I think about Oskar Sundqvist, I think of a winner.”

Said Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who won a Cup with Sundqvist, “I love ‘Sunny.’ He’s one of a kind for sure, super funny. Sometimes you don’t really know what he’s saying, but just a great guy to have around, be around and build a relationship over the years with. He’s a gamer, no question about that. He’s a great player to have on your team.”

But Sundqvist, who has 181 points (67 goals, 114 assists) in 545 regular-season games with the Blues, Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild, wants it to be known that this is his home, now and forever even with the uncertainty of whether the Blues would be interested in retaining him or allowing him to walk.

“I think from Day 1, even if my first year wasn’t great, this city has always been awesome,” Sundqvist said. ‘I’ve loved every second of it and that’s why obviously I kept my house while I got traded (to the Red Wings in 2022). It’s going to be my home for the rest of my life.”

And that’s why the Blues chose to put him in the starting lineup on Tuesday, and it was only fitting that his goal at 4:51 of the second period started the string of five straight goals in the comeback win:

“It was awesome. It was a great feeling,” Sundqvist said. "It’s been a lot of fun years here and a lot of not-so-fun years. I think this is a great group. Obviously we did not meet the expectations that we had for ourselves. That’s something we need to look over and start on time next year. I think from time to time we’ve been playing really good and then kind of lost it. That’s not good enough in this league. We need to be a more consistent team for next year.”

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