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NHL Notebook: Jonathan Toews set to retire; Justin Schultz joins Kraken staff
Edmonton Oilers Jonathan Toews Winnipeg Jets
Photo credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Alicia LaBine
Jun 18, 2026, 23:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 18, 2026, 23:36 EDT
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Jonathan Toews is expected to announce his retirement on Friday, after making a highly anticipated return to play in the 2025-26 season, according to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.
Winning a hard-fought battle with Chronic Inflamatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), and other health issues, earned him a nomination for the 2026 Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication.
“Anything that I would do throughout the day, there was always kind of that stress response. So it took some time, and that was the frustrating part was not really knowing when or how we were gonna get over the hump,” Toews told CBS Sports in 2021, after his first struggles with CIRS.
Last season, he played for the Winnipeg Jets, where he played the entire 82-game season, and tallied 11 goals and 29 points.
“I think if I be honest with myself and I look back to a couple years ago, where I was at, it definitely feels like a huge accomplishment, and I am very proud,” Toews said in his end of season media availability. “That being said there’s parts of my game that really struggled early on.”
He added that he feels the game has developed a lot in the years that he missed, and that his extended period away from the ice caused him to fall behind the current pace of the league.
“I am super happy and proud that I went after the dream of playing in the NHL again,” he continued. “At the same time, you have expectations in your mind of what kind of player you can be, and how you want to contribute to your team. I wasn’t anywhere close to that unfortunately. It’s disappointing.”
Toews was drafted third overall by the Blackhawks in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, where he played 1,067 games, won three cups, and had 883 points. He also had 119 points in 137 playoff games with Chicago. In 2010, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoff with seven goals and 29 points in 22 games. His time as the team’s captain from 2008-23 made him the longest-tenured player to wear the “C” in franchise history.
The highly accoladed centreman also won the Frank J. Selke Trophy for being the best defensive forward in 2013 and the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award in 2015.

Justin Schultz to take on a player development role in Seattle

Two-time Stanley Cup champion Justin Schultz is joining the Seattle Kraken in a player development role, his first job in the league since his retirement in 2024.
Schultz, 35, played 745 NHL games recording 71 goals and 324 points with the Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and ending with the Kraken.
His time in Edmonton spanned four seasons between 2012-16, before he was traded to the Penguins for a third round pick in the 2016 NHL draft. With Pittsburgh he won back-to-back cups, and in the 2017 win, the defenceman scored four goals and 13 points in 21 games – he was the seventh highest scoring defenceman that regular season with 12 goals and 51 points.
As a player for Seattle, he played two seasons recording 14 goals and 60 points. Schultz scored three goals and ten points in the Kraken’s first and only playoff appearance, helping the team on their way to Game 7 of the second round against the Dallas Stars.
After Schultz retired from the NHL, he played eight games with HC Lugano in Switzerland for the 2024-25 season, logging zero goals and six points.

Terry to miss five-to-six months for Ducks

Troy Terry will miss five-to-six months for the Anaheim Ducks after he underwent successful surgery on June 9 to address hip impingement and a labral tear.
Terry missed 21 games in the regular season, before returning to the team in the first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. While it seems possible he was playing through significant injuries, the winger scored three goals and 11 points in 12 games.
His timeline suggests that he will miss at least the first month of the 2026-27 season, with his return expected to be at the end of November or early December.
He had 19 goals and 57 points in the 61 games he played this season, marking his career high in points-per-game. Had Terry played the entire season, he was on pace to set a career high in points with 73, beating his previous best of 67.
This presents Anaheim with large shoes to fill for the beginning of next season, as Terry is their highest scoring winger. The team has $39 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, but they still have to re-sign their six pending unrestricted free agents: Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, Radko Gudas, and Jacob Trouba – it was reported by The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that John Carlson will be hitting the market.

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