Jonathan Toews returned to Chicago on Monday for the first time since leaving the Blackhawks. The 37-year-old center signed with his hometown Winnipeg Jets on July 1 after spending 15 seasons in Chicago.
“I was kind of focusing on the next game, and it kind of sneaks up on you. So here we are,”
Toews said about his return to his former NHL home.
The Winnipeg center won three Stanley Cup titles with Chicago during one of the franchise’s most successful periods.
“It’s a weird situation. You don’t get games like this all the time, obviously. But just trying to walk that line between, at the end of the day, you want to go out there and play well, and you want to win the game, so you got to keep some level of focus and not get too distracted with all the things going on around you.”
Chicago selected Toews with the No. 3 pick in the 2006 draft. He became the team’s 34th captain in July 2008 at age 20.
Toews helped lead Chicago to Stanley Cup victories in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The Blackhawks also reached the Western Conference finals in 2014, losing to Los Angeles in seven games.
“I’m just super thankful, really grateful. I’m always trying to be cognizant of the fact I was thrown into a really incredible opportunity. I’ll give myself credit, I definitely had a lot of will, a lot of energy coming into my career as a young kid here in Chicago, but it was just a perfect storm. We had so many great players that were finding themselves and finding their careers at the same time.”
The Blackhawks celebrated those championship teams Saturday night during festivities for the franchise’s centennial season. Toews caught up with former teammates Sunday.
Health Issues and Departure
Toews missed the 2020-21 season and part of 2022-23 with symptoms he described as long COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome. He was once nicknamed “Captain Serious,” though that reputation faded as he showed more personality over the years.
Chicago announced before their 2023 season finale that it would be Toews’ last game with the team. He received cheers throughout a 5-4 loss to Philadelphia.
“He’s the one teammate I’ve ever had where you go out with him in public and people won’t just say they’re a ‘big fan.’ They’ll almost give an emotional thank you to him. They’ll literally say, ‘Thank you for making my life better.’ That’s what people will say to him,”
said Blackhawks defenseman **Connor Murphy**.
New Chapter in Winnipeg
After taking two years off, Toews is adjusting to life with the Jets. He scored in four consecutive games before being held scoreless in Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Toronto.
“I think as time went along I’ve been able to feel more comfortable and just find my game and settle in and find a role on this team.”
