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Stanley Cup champion receives Key to the Town

November 19, 2020   ·   0 Comments

Mayor Tom Mrakas reached out to the Goodrow family to set up a time to meet the recent Stanley Cup champion and former Aurora resident Barclay Goodrow.

Goodrow happily went to meet the Mayor and had no idea about the gift he was going to receive.

“Showing up there I had no idea I was going to be presented with the Key to the Town and it was really nice meeting with Mr. Mrakas and for him to present me the key to the Town. It was pretty special,” Goodrow told The Auroran.

He becomes the third person to receive such a prestigious memento. The only other persons to have received the key to the town is last-year’s Stanley Cup champion Robert Thomas and Magna founder Frank Stronach.

Of course, it is every NHLer’s dream is to bring home the cup. But Goodrow never anticipated the reaction and how it would impact so many people following the playoffs.

“You never envision the reaction you’ll get from your hometown or the Mayor. The number of people that are following along your career, and especially when playoffs hit. It’s a pretty cool feeling to know how many people are watching and following along. And to drive back into Aurora, a place where I’ve lived since I was two-years-old and to see your name on the (Town’s) sign – it is pretty cool.”

The Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars in six games this past year in one of the most unique playoffs to date.

Goodrow came to the Lightning at the trade deadline along with Blake Coleman from the New Jersey Devils, and he says right from the moment he was dealt he knew the players within this group mean a lot to each other.

“Right from the trade, everyone was super welcoming, super accepting. I got a text from (Steven) Stamkos and (Victor) Hedman right away. Jon Cooper called me. It was just very welcoming and I knew it was going to be a very tightly knit group and that’s what you need to win the Stanley Cup and playoff series. You need a team that’s going to go the extra mile for each other.”

Goodrow was brought in to this team and slotted into the third line with Yanni Gourde and Blake Coleman. He says the line was a given a role to play and that had done so successfully.

Now at home in Canada, Goodrow says the farther the team went in the playoffs the better the sacrifice was of eating restaurant food and being sequestered from everyone else.

He still has yet to experience the lifestyle in Tampa Bay, having just moved into his new home on the day the season was cancelled in March.

When his parents, Janice and John, going into the bubble to watch the team play and be a part of the Inside the Bubble series, celebrating this Stanley Cup win with his family was something he will never forget.

“It was pretty special. Just knowing what they have done to put me in this position to be able to play a sport that I love for a living. It wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for them. I know there was a lot of hoops and hurdles they had to cross to get into the bubble. I think they would have done it no matter what they had to do,” Goodrow said.

“When that moment came to celebrate with them, it was pretty special. It’s a moment I think none of us will forget for the rest of our lives.”

As for the rest of the offseason, Goodrow is happy to be back in Canada with the family, training here north of the border and enjoying some home-cooked meals.

He says he will return to Tampa Bay when the time is right as the NHL tirelessly works to put the players back out on the ice.

The NHL is looking to return in January.

By Robert Belardi



         

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