Jonathan Toews is calling it a career. The future Hall of Fame forward, who returned to the NHL this season after a two-year layoff due to Long-COVID symptoms, has scheduled a press conference for Friday in Winnipeg. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Toews will use that press conference to announce his retirement from the league.
Toews played 1,149 career games, the vast majority of them as the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks. He spent this past season with his hometown Winnipeg Jets, a move that felt like a full-circle moment for a player whose legacy had already been cemented years ago.
A career built on more than just points
Drafted third overall by Chicago in 2006, Toews hit the ground running. He put up 24 goals and 30 assists as a rookie in 2007-08 and quickly became known as one of the league’s elite two-way forwards. Over the next decade and a half, he was the backbone of a Blackhawks dynasty.
Three Stanley Cups. A Conn Smythe Trophy in 2010. A Selke Trophy in 2013. The Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2015. Toews hit 20 goals in each of his first 12 seasons and topped 50 points in 12 of his 15 years in Chicago. His number 19 is already destined for the United Center rafters.
But the last few years were brutal. Long-COVID and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome wiped out his entire 2020-21 season. He battled through it, came back for the 2022-23 campaign, and then got told by Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson that the team wouldn’t bring him back. His final home game in Chicago in April 2023 was emotional as hell. Fans gave him a sendoff that felt more like a goodbye than anyone wanted to admit at the time.
One last run in Winnipeg
This season in Winnipeg was never about stats. Toews played a supporting role, showing flashes of the old grit but clearly not the same player who dominated for years. It didn’t matter to Jets fans. They got to watch a hometown legend close out his career on his own terms, or at least as close to his own terms as his health would allow.
The timing makes sense. Toews turns 38 later this month. He’s been open about how hard the recovery process has been, both physically and mentally. Friday’s announcement won’t surprise anyone who’s been paying attention, but it’ll still land hard for Blackhawks fans who watched him lead that franchise out of the dark ages.
No word yet on when Chicago will retire his number. But it’s coming. That much is certain.
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