Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews to return to the lineup
The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that captain Jonathan Toews will return to the lineup for the matchup against the New Jersey Devils tomorrow.
Breaking: Jonathan Toews will return to the Blackhawks’ lineup tomorrow vs. the Devils, per Richardson.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 31, 2023Toews has not played in the NHL since January 28 due to his lingering illness.
The long-time captain of the Blackhawks has been dealing with Long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome all year. In the final year of his $10,500,000 AAV contract he has played 46 games and scored 14 goals and 28 points. He had taken a step back in his game following his 60-point campaign in 2019-20. Some of that is due to injury, some due to age, and some of it is due to the poor lineup around him.
The Blackhawks are in the midst of a rebuilding season and the main goal this year is to win the lottery and draft Connor Bedard. They are currently 32nd in the NHL and own a record of 24-45-6 with seven games remaining. Those seven games could be the final games of Toews’ Blackhawks career.
Toews is not sure if he will be playing in the NHL next year so these games will be extra meaningful to him, even as the team is not in the playoff race. Due to his autoimmune disorder and Long COVID, it would be understandable if he laces up his skates for the last time on April 13 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
This would be a fitting ending to such a storied career, playing his final game against the team he defeated in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals for his first of three Stanley Cup championships.
In his career, Toews has 371 goals and 880 points in 1060 games, all for the Blackhawks. He won three Stanley Cups including a Conn Smythe Trophy, a Frank J. Selke Trophy, and a Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.