Toews Returns with the Jets: First Point After 2 Years Out Due to Health

Jonathan Toews reached a new milestone in his return to the NHL on Monday, recording his first point in almost two and a half years.

I guess when you put it that way, it’s nice to get the monkey off my back.

Jonathan Toews

Toews contributed to the assist on Nino Niederreiter’s goal in the Jets’ third game of the season, earning a secondary assist. The last time Toews appeared on the scoresheet was April 13, 2023, in his final game with the Chicago Blackhawks, before retiring from hockey due to health issues.

I felt like I had some chances to score as well. Hopefully, I’ll find a way to get that first goal here as well. I think, ultimately, you just focus on making plays, moving around the net, being more confident when the puck comes to you in those dangerous areas. It’s a numbers game. You just have to keep creating and finding ways to get to the back of the net.

Jonathan Toews

Toews, 37, chose his hometown team to make his return after being absent for the last two seasons due to the effects of chronic immune response syndrome and long COVID-19. He said he feels good physically as he gets up to speed.

I’m still finding myself a bit. It takes time for it to become natural. And then you have to find your game. You have to go out and relax a bit. The first two games I felt like I was getting tired at the end of shifts, because you’re just skating too much and you’re trying too hard. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and sometimes less is more.

Jonathan Toews

Toews captained the Blackhawks, leading them to win the Stanley Cup three times, in 2010, ’13 and ’15. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP during the franchise’s first championship run since 1961 and in 2016 was chosen as one of the 100 best players in the history of 100 years of the league. Toews also helped Canada win two Olympic gold medals. Those tournaments and world championships are the only times he and Kane have faced each other since they debuted together with the Blackhawks in ’07. Assuming they’re healthy, that’s scheduled to change on December 31st when Winnipeg visits Detroit. Kane has already asked coach Todd McLellan to put him on the opening faceoff against his former teammate, with whom he will always be linked. Toews is showing that he still has it, averaging more than 17 minutes of ice time as the second-line center for the Jets. Coach Scott Arniel used Toews on the penalty kill against the Islanders after forward Cole Koepke was injured blocking a shot, but the staff is trying not to overuse him.

He’s getting better every day. That’s what we talked about, he and I, that it wasn’t going to come all at once. Every day, he’s improved more and more and I think he’s recognizing how to play the game with his hockey intelligence.

Scott Arniel

The next challenge is a long-term bet to rejoin the Canadian Olympic team when NHL players return to the Milan Games in February. He would also like to help the Jets win the Cup for the first time, and his teammates love having Toews around.

It’s the leadership he has, the things he’s done in this league, and there’s nothing he hasn’t done. He helps us a lot. He’s very expressive in the locker room, he says the right things.

Tanner Pearson