Jonathan Toews is grateful and
excited to play again after signing with his hometown Winnipeg Jets
[July 05, 2025]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Jonathan Toews is back in the NHL
with his hometown Winnipeg Jets after a two-year absence.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion was introduced Friday as the
newest member of the Jets, donning a jersey with his signature No.
19 at a team news conference.
The Jets announced their intention to acquire the 37-year-old center
last month, but it only became official this week, with Toews
signing a one-year deal worth $2 million, plus performance bonuses
tied to games played and playoff success.
The longtime Chicago Blackhawks captain last played in April 2023.
On Friday, he told reporters he was just grateful for the
opportunity to return to the ice, let alone with his hometown club
in front of friends and family.
“It’s an honor and one that has really lit that fire again, that
excitement for the game,” Toews said.
“You have these moments throughout your career where I don’t want to
say you get jaded, but you get used to it, and you kind of settle
in. This is another moment that kind of brings me back to that new
feeling like you’re getting drafted again.”
Chosen one of the NHL’s top 100 players from its first 100 years,
Toews played 15 seasons with the Blackhawks and was one of the faces
of the franchise. He also helped Canada win gold at back-to-back
Olympics in 2010 and ’14.
Toews stepped away from hockey two years ago citing the effects of
Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and long COVID-19. His exit
coincided with Chicago trading fellow star Patrick Kane and going
into a full-scale rebuild.
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff called Toews’ signing an
exciting day for Winnipeg and said it’s something he’s been thinking
about making happen for more than a decade.
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Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel, left, looks on as Jonathan
Toews, right, speaks to media as he is welcomed to the NHL hockey
team at a news conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Friday, July 4,
2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
Cheveldayoff, an assistant GM in Chicago when Toews
and the Blackhawks won the 2010 Stanley Cup, said that when he
joined the Jets the following year, he and team co-owner Mark
Chipman mused about the possibility of seeing Toews in a Winnipeg
jersey one day.
“At that point in time it was merely a dream or a concept,”
Cheveldayoff said. “Last week, when we finalized everything, I sent
Mark a text, and it said ‘Toews is a Jet.’ It was an emotional
feeling.”
“One of the most decorated hockey players in Manitoba history is
coming home.”
Toews is joining a Jets team that’s coming off a Presidents’
Trophy-winning season as the NHL’s top regular-season club. Earlier
this week, Winnipeg lost a key offensive piece when winger Nikolaj
Ehlers signed a six-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes.
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