Chicago Blackhawks
Toews Talks ‘Weird’ Return To Chicago, Grateful For Blackhawks Tenure
Jonathan Toews missed out on Saturday’s celebration of “The Banner Years”, where the Chicago Blackhawks welcomed back countless members of the 2010, 2013, and 2015 Stanley Cup championship teams to the United Center.
While the likes of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa, and many more franchise icons returned to their old stomping grounds, ‘Captain Serious’ was busy playing for his hometown team, the Winnipeg Jets, in a Canadian matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toews and his Jets had their four-game winning streak snapped with a 4-3 overtime loss at Canada Life Centre.
Considering Toews’ legacy in Chicago, perhaps it’s more fitting that he gets his own night of celebration on Monday, when Winnipeg squares off with the Blackhawks for the second of four meetings in 2025-26. It will be Toews’ first time playing at the United Center as a visitor, where he’s sure to receive a special video tribute and get showered with love from the fans in attendance.
“It’s a weird situation,” Toews said with a wry smile following Monday’s morning skate. “You don’t get games like this all the time, obviously. At the end of the day, you want to go out there and play well and win the game, so you’ve got to keep some level of focus and not get too distracted by all the things going on. But tonight, I’ll definitely be excited. A lot of energy to play the game. I’ll just try and go out there and play my best.”
Toews now finds himself in the same “weird” scenario that another Blackhawks three-time Stanley Cup champion faced nearly two years ago. Patrick Kane, who also departed the organization in 2023, returned to Chicago in February 2024 as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. Kane, in vintage ‘Showtime’ fashion, recorded the game-winning goal in overtime, putting a stamp on an emphatic first trip back to the Madhouse.
Toews laughed when asked on Monday about Kane setting a high bar for their return games. The 37-year-old added that he stopped comparing himself to Kane “a long time ago” and joked about reaching out for some advice ahead of the game.
“I thought about it, and then I was like, ‘What am I calling him for advice for?'” Toews said. “I’m kidding. Like I said, I’ll just go out there and enjoy it tonight.”
While Toews couldn’t be in attendance for Saturday’s festivities, he did arrive in Chicago early enough to catch up with several of his former teammates before the end of the weekend. He and his parents were joined by Andrew Shaw, Kris Versteeg, and Troy Brouwer for dinner on Sunday.
Toews took the time to speak about how fortunate he is for all of those life-long friendships he established during his 16 seasons with the Blackhawks.
“I’m just super thankful. Really, really grateful,” he said. “I think the beauty of our game is it’s so team-oriented, and I think I’m always trying to be cognizant of the fact that I was thrown into a really incredible opportunity. We had so many great players that were finding themselves, finding their careers, finding their games at the same time, and just even the trajectory of where the organization was at the time.”
As for the city itself, Toews described the transition from the mid-2000s, when players like Keith and Seabrook were literally handing out tickets on the street, to becoming a modern-day dynasty in the 2010s, where the stadium was sold out every night. He couldn’t have asked for better support from the Chicagoans over the years.
“I went and played the World Championship after my last year in college, and all the guys there were always like, you know, Chicago’s such a great sports city, and once the team gets going, it’s going to be a great place to play. And sure enough, that really came true within a couple of years of being here. So just all the things kind of lining up and being able to take advantage of those opportunities was all pretty special.”
Indeed, Toews and the Blackhawks’ run from 2007 to 2023 was something special. So, too, will be Monday’s welcome home party, where Toews gets recognized for his remarkable achievements and historic career moments in Chicago.
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