My Girl (Jonathan Toews)

27

Jonathan

People say that the Stanley cup is the hardest trophy to win in all of sports. Anyone who has ever won it will tell you, it's true. You play hurt, you play tired, you play until you're not even sure if you're still a human or a hockey robot. Your body hurts, your head hurts and you have to win 16 games in order for it to be all worth it.

But man, is it. It's so reliving it to lift that trophy above your head. So many people compete for this trophy, so many people have their name etched in history. To see your name alongside the others who played this great game, well it's hard to say that the Stanley cup isn't the best trophy in sports, along with it being the hardest to get.

"No offense, but I hope you guys win here tonight so I don't have to be working when you win" Alexis admits as we walk into TD Garden for the first clinching situation of the season.

"When" I ask and she rolls her eyes.

"Why do I have more faith in your team than you do" she asks as I gasp.

"I have faith! I just don't want to jinx it" I insist.

"You're one of the most talented players in the NHL... like ever... you don't get bad luck or jinx's" she claims.

"It's the Stanley cup final, I'm not taking my chances" I admit.

"Aren't hockey player usually superstitious" she wonders.

"Yes. But if I based my play off of jinx's then I might as well go home" I insist.

"What about promises" she asks and I smile.

"Promises are okay" I admit.

"Then make me a promise" she says sticking her pinky up. "Promise me that you'll win tonight so I don't have to be working when you do win" she insists.

"I can't-" I start as she shoves her pinky in my face. "How do you expect me to promise you that" I question.

"Have you ever let me down" she questions.

"I don't know? Not that I can think of" I admit.

"You haven't, and you're not going to start now. Promise me you'll win tonight and it'll happen" she insists.

I wrap my pinky around hers and she smiles at me.

"I promise" I assure her.

She goes off with Kimberly and my family and I go to the locker room. I get changed and we blast some music to get pumped up for the game. I sit in my stall and think to myself what a night like tonight means. To me it doesn't mean much, I've won the cup and mvp before, when it comes to winning I've seen it all. But for some reason this felt different than 2010. A lot of people win the cup once, the great ones win it multiple times. To be someone who captained a team to two Stanley cups, it's not something I need to feel validated but surely is something I want.

We take the ice and I skate around trying to get warmed up. I mess around with the guys and go over to the glass so I can mess with Kimmy who was sitting against the glass with Alexis. She bangs her hands against the glass and I do the same to her. She giggles when I smile at her before turning to her sister. Alexis waves at me so Kimberly will and I wave back. I head back to the task at hand and focus up. If I wasn't feeling motivated before then I really was now.

But just like every other game in the series this game was close. It was tied 1-1 at the beginning of the third period and now were down 2-1 as time starts to wind down on us. I look up into the crowd and find Alexis with her face in her hands. She's a mess when she watches these games, I've learned that. And I hate that she's so stressed out because she doesn't need that kind of stress in her life, but maybe I can make it worthwhile for her.

I jump the boards for a extra attacker with less than two minutes remaining in the period. Although this series already has far too many overtime's sending this game to one is a priority. So we get the puck deep in the zones trying to create some chances. A few guys battle along the boards until Duncan shoots the puck out and I realize I'm by myself. I turn to see my options and see both Zeus and Bicks out in front to I try to just get it to them. The puck makes it to Bickell who whacks it home past the goalie and into the net.

In that moment I realized that that goal was probably one of the biggest goals of my life. It got the boys fired up and this game tied giving us another chance to win it here tonight and not have to play another game, which a lot of us would prefer. Plus I had a promise I had to keep.

We all go back to the bench and send out a shut down line to the ice. It was a whole new ballgame now that we were all pumped and excited again. Patrick sits next to me and Big Hoss on the other side as we catch our breaths. None of us really paying attention to the game, still trying to come down from this high we were on.

The next thing I know I watch the puck bounce around before Bolland sends it to the back of the net. Just 17 hockey second later we were about to win a Stanley cup. We went from a game seven to a it's almost over in seconds, it was crazy.

"Holy shit" Patrick repeats over and over again trying to process this.

"Seabs Jonny Frolik Oduya Zeus, finish's this off" Coach Q yells and we jump the boards. We didn't even have time to process that we were ahead before being sent out to defend the lead.

We spent a bunch of time in the neutral zone as they had now pulled their goalie for a extra attacker. I send the puck down the ice and miss the net but it didn't matter. The final horn sounds the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks were now Stanley cup champions.

Patrick wins MVP because everything he does is really good and we pass the cup around. A lot of the people in the stands left because their team had lost but there was a good amount of red still left up there.

Eventually they let our families onto the ice and I go looking for mine.

"I'm about to fall on my face. I've never had to be out here not in my ice skates. This is awful" someone says and I smile to myself. I know that's my girl.

I see her slipping and sliding towards me with Kimberly trailing behind her. I decide to make this a little easier and skate over to her. I pull her into my embrace and she lets out a soft squeal.

"Oh Jonny, you're all wet" she says as she holds on to me so she doesn't fall.

"Shut up and kiss me" I demand.

She turns around in my arms before grabbing my face and pulling me into a kiss. I smile through it causing her to back off a little and we eventually break apart.

"I'm so proud of you" she says softly as she looks into my eyes.

"I did it for you. I couldn't break a pinky promise" I insist and she smirks at me.

I feel someone hitting my leg and I look down to see Kimberly jumping up and down at my feet.

"What are you doing" I ask.

"Up" she yells and I pick her up. She gives me a big hug and only then was this finally a good night.

"Good job not losing" she says and I laugh.

"Thanks I guess."

I grab my parents and we all take pictures with the cup. I do interviews and wash up and get on the plane ride back home. As the guys loudly converse I look out the window and see Alexis standing there. She holds up her pinky and I do too, because a promise is a promise. And I don't break my promises.