A future Hall of Famer is considering a comeback to the NHL and multiple teams have already expressed interest.
Three-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Toews spoke with Matthew Robertson of GQ Magazine earlier this week and opened up about his battle with chronic inflammatory response syndrome.
Toews announced ahead of the 2023-24 season that he’d be stepping away from the game as he tried to get his health challenges under control. The 36-year-old recently spent five weeks in India practicing Ayurveda, a traditional form of alternative medicine that involves yoga, meditation, and enemas to fix an issue that had been plaguing him since he was a teenager.
The lessons that Toews learned during his journey in India are ones that he says he’ll carry with him for the rest of his life. Toews also added that he’s now in a spot where he believes he can make a return to playing hockey at the highest level.
GQ: “To the degree that you can, are you going to still be using these practices in your daily life back in the US and Canada? And also, is the goal to eventually play in the NHL again?”
Toews: “To answer your first question, absolutely. The other quote I’ve been living by as of late is to not throw the baby out with the bath water. Again, I’m not all or nothing on anything, and I think I’ve taken a lot of good from these experiences and learned a lot through Ayurveda. I’ll continue to learn more about this stuff and try to incorporate it in my life more and more.
I think, going to your hockey question, again, I haven’t spoken about this to a lot of people, but it’s definitely still in there. I’ve talked to a lot of the guys that are done, and a lot of them will say that desire to be on the ice competing and to be in the locker room with the guys never goes away. It’s just something that you have to accept when your time comes. So there’s that, but at the same time, I think there’s a big part of me that really wants to give it my all, to get back on the ice and see where it takes me.
There’s a part of me that really doesn’t feel like my career is over yet, and who knows what this next part of the journey looks like, as far as getting back on the ice and trying to make a return to the NHL. There’s never any guarantees in life, but I’m going to give it my best shot. I’m going to enjoy every step of the way. As hard as it’s been at times, I look back now and I’m pretty thankful for it all. So we’ll see what happens.”
During Amazon Prime’s Thursday night coverage, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported that multiple teams have expressed interest in Toews as he considers an NHL comeback. Seravalli added that it’s unclear if Toews will sign with a team for the latter part of the 2024-25 season or if he’ll wait until 2025-26 for a fresh start.
The Chicago Blackhawks selected Toews with the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft and he played a significant role in the team’s three Stanley Cup championships in 2010, 2013, and 2015.
The native of Winnipeg, Manitoba scored 372 goals and 883 points in 1,067 games for the Hawks over 15 seasons in the league and added 119 points over 137 playoff games. He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs in 2009-10 and was voted the Selke Trophy winner in 2012-13 as the league’s best defensive forward.
Beyond his success in the NHL, Toews also helped Team Canada win gold medals at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014 and at the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.
It’s unclear at this stage which teams have expressed interest in signing Toews but his connection to Stan Bowman makes the Edmonton Oilers a possibility. Bowman served as general manager of the Blackhawks between 2009 and 2021 and he joined the Oilers last summer after the team opted to part ways with Ken Holland.
The Oilers have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as their top two centres and winger Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as another option for second-line pivot. Adam Henrique has played mostly as the team’s third-line centre this season and both Derek Ryan and Mattias Janmark have been used as centres on the fourth.
Those latter three players have combined for only five goals so far this season and adding more depth down the middle should be among Bowman’s priorities before the trade deadline. Though Toews can’t be counted on to be the top-six, two-way player that he used to be during his prime, he might still be able to provide a boost as a savvy veteran in a defensive role.