Season-ticket holder Connie Bronowitz, with help from Vegas team president Bubolz, fulfills spouse’s final wish
When the Vegas Golden Knights were crowned Stanley Cup Champions at T-Mobile Arena on June 13, Connie Bronowitz knew exactly what she had to do. Pe Coated Paper Roll Price
A week after that historic day, Bronowitz – a Golden Knights season-ticket holder since the franchise’s inception in 2016 – reached out to team president Kerry Bubolz with a request: To bring the Stanley Cup to her late husband’s gravesite.
It was an important request for Bronowitz, one that was two years in the making.
In June 2021, as the Golden Knights were battling the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Semifinals, her husband, Michael, died due to the COVID-19 virus. One of his final requests to her before he was admitted into the hospital was, if things didn’t go well for him, to bring the Cup to his grave.
“The Knights were in the playoffs, and it was fresh on his mind that it was possible they would win the Cup that year,” Bronowitz told NHL.com. “Those are some of the last words I ever heard him speak, so I took this really seriously.”
The Golden Knights fell short of winning the Cup in 2021, but they completed the task last season, and Bronowitz didn’t forget about her husband’s request.
She emailed Bubolz after the season to see if he would be willing to complete her husband’s wish, but that wasn’t the first time the two had been in contact. Bubolz is known for walking around T-Mobile Arena during games and interacting with fans. Knowing that the Golden Knights were going to be in the playoffs and make a push for the Cup, Bronowitz found Bubolz at a late-season game and introduced herself.
Bubolz had met Michael at previous games and recognized him when Bronowitz showed Bubolz a photo of her husband. The two talked about Michael at the game, but Bronowitz decided not to mention his request at that time as to not jinx the upcoming playoff run.
“In my mind I really just went over to thank him for being so gracious towards Michael and I wanted to show a picture of him to Kerry just to see if he recognized him and he did,” Bronowitz said. “At that point it’s like, ‘Ok now we wait. Does it happen this year? Does it not happen this year?’ And it did and then I reached out to him.”
After going back and forth for a few months, Bubolz and Bronowitz nailed down the logistics and had the Cup visit Michael’s grave at Bunker's Memory Gardens Memorial Park on Sept. 8.
“I met her and about 10 or 11 of her friends and family over at the gravesite,” Bubolz told NHL.com. “They had already decorated it with some VGK stuff and they had a towel that they put down next to the gravesite. The Cup arrived and I pulled it out of the back of the truck with the help of our friends at the Hall of Fame and we proceeded to play John Wick, which is our intro music, and walked towards the site.”
The family spent 15 minutes with the Cup at Michael’s decorated gravestone, even placing a photo of him inside the trophy.
“There were a lot of tears that were shed on their side,” Bubolz said. “At the end of it all, I think back to my whole day and obviously there were a lot of great memories but that was one of the best memories I have because they were so appreciative that we were able to bring it over and honor this last wish.”
Michael’s love for hockey goes back to his college days while he was covering the Rochester Americans AHL team for Rochester University’s school newspaper. He moved to Vegas in 2011 with his wife and was a fan of the Golden Knights since the franchise’s inception. He went to most home games, including the June 10, 2021 game against the Colorado Avalanche to celebrate his 51st birthday.
While that was his final game, his wife was sure to celebrate the team’s Stanley Cup victory two years later alongside her husband, with the help of Bubolz.
“What does it mean to me? Absolutely everything,” Bronowitz said. “[Bubolz] is the salt of the Earth as far as I’m concerned. He’s just incredible, the way he gets out with the fans during games. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who notices.”
Pe Coated Paper “It was nice to see all of their reactions to the Cup,” Bubolz said. “Because it’s a big deal but when you’re around it a lot … you kind of take it for granted. So, it was nice on that day to get reminded that it means a lot to a lot of people and that’s what’s so special about the Stanley Cup."