Nearly 10 years ago to the day, Jonathan Toews’ place on top of the mountain could not have seemed more secure.
On June 15, 2015, the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. In the aftermath, Toews lifted the big silver mug — as captain of the Hawks — for the third time in six springs.
At that point, about six weeks past his 27th birthday, Toews had three Cup rings, one Conn Smythe and two Olympic gold medals. He was named the best forward at the 2010 Games, when his Canadian team won on home soil, and he scored the game-winner in the 2014 Olympic final. He was already a member of the exclusive Triple Gold Club, and his World Junior Championship leg of that trifecta came only after he created an all-time WJC moment in Canada by scoring three times in a semifinal shootout to beat Team USA.
From the time he was drafted third overall by the Blackhawks in 2006 through that six-game victory against Tampa in the final, Toews had truly accomplished everything he could have hoped for and more in hockey.
Now, a decade removed from those soaring heights, a 37-year-old Toews is trying to pen a final chapter worthy of that incredible opening act.
Of course, between 2015 and now, Toews has experienced the hardship that — at least from the outside — was nowhere to be seen in his early days. Chicago won a total of seven playoff games between 2016 and 2023, when Toews last skated for the only NHL team he’s ever known.
Toews missed the entire 2020-21 season due to Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. His most recent season, 2022-23, was marred by the lingering effects of long COVID. In November, he posted pictures on Instagram from a trip to India, where he was on what Toews referred to as “a healing journey.”
Eight months later, Toews has confirmed the next step in his professional path is a return to NHL hockey in the fall.
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
On one hand, it’s easy to look at this and wonder — even in the case of someone so accomplished — what Toews can truly offer a club in his late-30s after a two-year hiatus from the world’s best league.
On the other, we just saw Gabriel Landeskog — a champion and captain, himself — make an impactful return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup after nearly three full seasons away from hockey.
It’s obviously not a perfect parallel — Landeskog is still in his early-30s and was recovering from a major knee injury — but it sure provides an inspiring blueprint for both Toews and any team that might be interested in signing him to what will surely be a bonus-laden, one-year deal.
Which clubs could that be? We’re glad you asked.
Winnipeg Jets
This seems like such a natural fit, it almost makes you wonder why it hasn’t happened yet. Remember, Toews has no current NHL contract and is a free agent right now. He doesn’t have to wait until July 1 to pick a new squad, though teams are likely waiting to go through the draft and opening days of free agency to get a sense of everything on the market.
Toews, of course, is a Winnipeg boy. The Jets, of course, have been looking for centre help behind Mark Scheifele for what feels like forever. They’re also going to be without the services of captain and 3C Adam Lowry for a chunk of next season while he recovers from hip surgery.
There’s no way a team could sign Toews expecting him to fill a 2C role right from the jump. What you could do, though, is give him runway in the middle six and see how things shake out. With Lowry out for a while, there’s a gaping hole down the middle of the Jets’ lineup.
If you’re Winnipeg, even if Toews proves to be not quite worthy of a second-line job, you’re still feeling a lot better about your depth down the middle with Scheifele ahead of him and Lowry — one of the best 3C’s in the league — right behind him.
Worst case: Lowry and Toews both operate as fantastic third-liners, and that’s enough to compensate for the lack of a true 2C. Best case: You get a 20-goal, 55-point pivot with loads of playoff experience to help break through that post-season ceiling.
For Toews, a proud son of Manitoba, you can join your hometown team knowing it will enter the year with legitimate hopes for a deep playoff run.
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are by no means a lock to make the playoffs — not even close — but Anaheim is making a strong push to get better. That was the impetus behind bringing in bench boss Joel Quenneville, Toews’ former coach in Chicago.
Quenneville was reinstated by the NHL last July. Before that, he was deemed ineligible to work in the league for more than two years due to his inadequate response to learning about an alleged sexual assault by a Blackhawks video coach against one of the team’s players in 2010.
Surely Anaheim — which is reportedly already after seasoned winger Chris Krieder — could use another veteran like Toews to help support young centres Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish, to say nothing of all the other quality, burgeoning players the team has at other positions. If the Ducks finally part ways with Trevor Zegras this summer, they could slide Ryan Strome over to the flank and give Toews room to breathe as a third-line centre on an up-and-coming team that plays in a spot where you can use downtime to surf.
Minnesota Wild
If it’s not meant to be in Winnipeg, how about a place that’s a bit south of where he grew up, in the neighbourhood of where he played NCAA hockey at North Dakota and is just as rabid about the game as any Canadian city?
The Wild are on the hunt for a centre to skate behind Joel Eriksson Ek and have already seen one of their native sons, Brock Nelson, re-up in Colorado. Throw in the fact that Minny appears headed toward a divorce with pending-RFA centre Marco Rossi, and there’s certainly a need for help down the middle.
The Wild are a competitive team that already has prospects like Zeev Buium and David Jiricek on the way and could take a swing in free agency now that the dead money from buyouts for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter is largely off the books.
Montreal Canadiens
Toews speaks French fluently and has lived his entire hockey life — from all his work with Team Canada to being the captain of an Original Six squad in a mega-sports city — in the spotlight.
Surely there’s some appeal to joining the NHL’s oldest club as it tries to write a new chapter.
There’s definitely something to be said for exploring it from the Habs’ side of the puck. Montreal has a gaping hole at 2C, one the club hoped would be filled by Kirby Dach when it traded for him three years ago. Alas, injuries and insufficient results from the player have killed that scenario.
Recall, Dach began his career in Chicago when Toews was the captain there and — as you’d expect — holds the former in extremely high regard. Could the Canadiens consider using Toews as a bridge to a long-term solution at 2C? Starting the year with rookie Ivan Demidov on one wing and a familiar face in Dach on the other might offer some intrigue.
Toronto Maple Leafs
If Toronto does not re-sign John Tavares, there will be a throbbing need for centre help. And even if the Leafs come to terms with Tavares, can’t you envision a desire to bring somebody like Toews on board?
General manager Brad Treliving spoke of a need to change the team’s DNA at his year-end presser. Could the counterbalance to all that losing be a three-time Cup champ who has come through over and over in the big moment?
Surely Toronto is watching veterans like Brad Marchand and Corey Perry — who just happen to be pending-UFAs themselves, but that’s another story — thrive in the Cup Final and wondering how it can get players of that nature in its lineup.
A move to wing has always seemed in the cards for Tavares, and if you started Toews between Tavares and Nylander, you wouldn’t be asking much offensively out of that line’s centre.
Boston Bruins
Again, it’s just so easy to picture Toews wearing another Original Six uniform.
Despite being hard sellers at the deadline, the Bruins are not actively taking a step back to rebuild and could probably make a solid pitch to Toews in terms of the club’s ability to compete for a playoff spot next year.
The team’s top two defencemen — Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm — missed huge chunks of the season, and goalie Jeremy Swayman never quite looked right after his 2024 off-season was coloured by drawn-out contract negotiations.
Give Swayman a bounceback year, have McAvoy and Lindholm out there suppressing the other team’s top line, throw in the usual 100 points from David Pastrnak, and you’ve got the makings of a team that’s going to win games.
Now add Toews to the mix on a team that’s had a huge need for help at centre since losing both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci two years ago. Suffice it to say, inking Elias Lindholm to a big UFA deal last summer didn’t solve the problem.
From Toews’ perspective, there’s uncapped potential here because Boston doesn’t have a top-line centre. Again, while you can’t expect Toews to shoot out of the gate and perform like he did five years ago, if he shakes the rust off and demonstrates the offensive game is still there, he could find himself playing beside a stud like Pastrnak if it made the most sense on new coach Marco Sturm’s lineup card.
New York Islanders
Admittedly, this one feels like a Long Island longshot, but hear us out. The Isles are turning a page right now with new GM Mathieu Darche grabbing the reins and the club about to select first overall at the 2025 NHL Draft in a couple of weeks.
Darche has indicated that he wants this club back in the playoffs as soon as possible and has a hole to fill at centre, with Brock Nelson having been moved ahead of the trade deadline and Mathew Barzal taking most of his shifts as a winger.
The Nelson deal returned highly regarded centre prospect Calum Ritchie, who could learn a lot about the position by rubbing up against Toews and Bo Horvat every day.
Toews could re-enter the league on a competitive club while living a stone’s throw away from Manhattan, a place that can indulge his cultural and intellectual curiosities.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.
