Maple Leafs, Jets, Avalanche among teams to watch as Jonathan Toews looks to resume NHL career

Frank Seravalli dropped an important bombshell piece of news this evening on Jonathan Toews return to the NHL. 

Toews has not played a full season since 2018-19, and was limited to just 53 games in 2022-23. He missed all of 2020-21 while dealing with health issues, but bounced back to record 37 points in 71 games in 2021-22.

Toews is sixth in all-time scoring among Blackhawks players with 883 points and fifth in games played at 1,067. He is the longest-serving captain in Blackhawks history, being the only one to hold the honor over a 10-year span.

Toews was integral to the team’s three Stanley Cup championships from 2010 to 15. The 2010 season saw him help Canada win gold at the Vancouver Winter Olympics before scoring 29 points in the Stanley Cup playoffs, good to earn him the Conn Smythe Trophy. Toews also joined the Triple Gold Club after winning gold at the 2007 World Junior Championship.

Frank Seravalli: “It’s been almost two calendar years since we’ve seen Jonathan Toews on the ice, but I can tell you that there’s no shortage of teams whose interest was peaked over the holidays when Toews detailed his five-week healing journey in India as he’s been suffering from chronic inflammatory response disorder. And so he’s feeling the best that he has in years and hinted in that story that he might want to resume his NHL career.

“Well, I can tell you that at this point, Jonathan Toews has indeed resumed skating. He’s feeling the best that he has in years, and he’s also backed down to his playing weight. I’m told that multiple teams expressed interest in Toews’ potential return to his agent in Pat Brisson from CAA Sports. They’re not entirely sure yet as to whether or not Toews might try and resume playing this year, in which case he’d have to be on a team’s reserve list by the trade deadline on March 7th, or if this is something that will wait until next year.

“But Andy, I’m gonna give you three teams to keep an eye on if Jonathan Toews does decide to make a comeback bid. One of them is the Toronto Maple Leafs. A third-line center has been on Brad Treliving’s wishlist all season long. The other would be the Winnipeg Jets, the hometown team for Jonathan Toews. And the third would be the Colorado Avalanche, in desperate need of another center. Three true, legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, all of whom would be interested to see what the three-time Stanley Cup winner, and one of the most clutch players of his generation, would still have left in the tank.”