CHICAGO — There are very few people in hockey who jonathan toews can really envy. the Blackhawks The captain has his name on the Stanley Cup three times. He owns a Conn Smythe Trophy, a Selke, two Olympic gold medals and is a Hall of Fame lock. So don’t shed a tear for Toews, he has done very well on the ice.
But he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy, an inescapable feeling of Why can’t it be me? – when Yevgeny MalkinShortly before his 36th birthday, he signed a four-year contract with the still-competitive pittsburgh penguins earlier this month, a deal that essentially ensures he will spend his entire career with the team that drafted himthe team with which he won three championships of his own and the city that embraced him.
“I’m not going to say, hey, look at that, look at how the grass could be greener on the other side,” Toews said Tuesday in a conversation with the athletic. “But when you go through a couple of tough seasons like this, it definitely puts things in perspective and reminds you how much fun you had when everything was working and the stars aligned for us. It breaks your heart to think that way, to remember how crazy and exciting it is in this city to play for these fans when we’re at the top. But this is a different stage in life, where the challenges are different and you do the best you can.”
Aside from spilling his drink on the table during the chat, Toews appeared to be in great shape, tanned, fit and happy. He will return to Winnipeg for a week later this summer, but Chicago is his full-time home and he had just finished his daily workout at Fifth Third Arena. He said that he feels great, especially compared to where he was a year ago, when he had just announced his pending return to the NHL after a year off due to growing and career-threatening health problems. Back then, she was just getting her legs back, just getting her breath back. It wasn’t until the second half of the season that he felt remotely like himself again, and his play on the ice reflected it.
This season, he hopes to turn back the clock and return to his most dominant form.
“People try to tell me I’m getting older and I won’t accept it any time soon,” he said with a wide grin.
Jonathan Toews with the outstanding goal pic.twitter.com/HNjiykrXkz
—Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) March 29, 2022
When it was pointed out that 34 is still pretty young in the grand scheme of things, Toews noted the long, heavy miles he’s racked up on his body and joked, “Yeah, but 34 goes to what? Passing the 25th, we will say. What about that?”
So yes, Toews feels physically prepared for the rigors of an 82-game season, of playing the tough, heavy two-way game he loves to play, of keeping up with a league that’s getting younger and faster. He’s so excited to prove everyone wrong, and prove himself right, that he can hardly wait for October.
But the real question is how prepared mentally What is Toews for the 2022-23 season? A season in which his team is actively trying to lose to secure a first pick in next year’s loaded draft. A season in which Toews will look around the locker room and barely recognize anyone other than his running mate, patrick kane.
Toews and Kane in 2019. (James Guillory/USA Today)
General manager Kyle Davidson has been talking about a long-term rebuild since the moment he replaced Stan Bowman on an interim basis last October. He has been upfront and honest about what that entails, and has kept Toews and Kane informed throughout the process. But all the while, Toews stubbornly clung to his belief that there was enough talent in the room to turn things around quickly, to set himself up for another playoff run with the only NHL team he’s ever known.
Brandon Hagel’s deal at the trade deadline was a bucket of cold water on his head. the Alex De Brincat and Kirby Dach trades earlier this month were slapped. There is no pretending anymore.
And now Toews, like Kane, faces the possibility — no, the very high probability — that this will be his last season in Chicago. And that he might even be sent before he’s done.
“When we switched to Hags, and then to Cat and Kirby, reality really set in on that, OK, this is where we are, and they really have to focus on the future,” Toews said. “And it’s unfortunate that it has come to that. But it is what it is. A lot of that has been out of my control for quite some time, and it’s a strange place to be as captain. It’s hard to say, sometimes, what should be your concern and what shouldn’t be, other than just playing your game. So my head is here, thinking about what is right in front of me, what is the next day or the next game or the next challenge. These past few years have taught me to be in the moment and cut out the things I can’t really control, and focus my energy on what I can control so I can really enjoy the game from there.”
However, that’s it. Toews has all the control. At least until next summer, when he expires on his eight-year contract. He, like Kane, has a full no move clause. He may not be marketed without his permission. Davidson has said that he wants both players to stay, to be the pillars of the rebuild, to teach young players how to be professionals and how to be winners. It’s a role in which Toews would excel: He’s generally been excellent with the young players, the first to invite them to dinner when they’re called, the last on the ice with them working on matchups after a morning skate. It is a role that he has enjoyed. But it’s different integrating young players into a successful, veteran team versus holding hands with so many young players during another losing season.
Still, with all he’s accomplished in his career, would it be so bad to play out his career as the elder statesman and set the stage for Chicago’s next big run? Well, it might not have been before Davidson was scorched earth on the list.
“At the end of the day, we’re talking about a five-plus-year process, according to Kyle,” Toews said. “So I don’t find that part attractive at all. I can’t speak for Kaner, but I definitely feel like the amount of turnover our team has gone through every year the last three or four years, that’s where it gets really taxing. And exhausting. You have a guy like Alex DeBrincat who was under Kaner’s wing. And I like to think that Kirby and I also had that bond in some way. And they go out, they go out the door. Time and time again, we have seen that rotation. I am learning to be more patient, but there is no doubt that the timeline is quite daunting and exhausting to think about. So I’m not going to sit here and say what I’m going to do or what the future holds for me, because I really don’t know.”
Well, it seems that he knows. At least in the very long term. It’s hard to imagine Davidson signing Toews after this season, given all the moves he’s made thus far. And given those comments, it’s hard to imagine Toews agreeing to some sort of multi-year deal to stay long term. At this point, he feels more like when, not if, Toews follows so many of his teammates out the door.
So that leaves a few possibilities.
• Could waive its no-move clause and be shipped before the trade deadline. If he plays at the level he played during the second half of last season, or even better, as he hopes, he’d be a dynamite addition as a third-row center for a contender. However, he will have to be at the top of his game for someone to take over his $10.5 million salary cap, even if the Blackhawks retain half.
Toews is well aware of this.
“If I don’t play hockey well, what value do I have anyway?” she said with a wry smile. “But I’m not going to say that if I’m playing some of the best hockey of my career and a great opportunity comes along and I’m a good fit, I might not go see what it looks like and see what it feels like. . Just for the fun of it.
• He could refuse to give up his NMC (or just might not be tradable) and hang on, turning the season finale into a months-long wrap party, a reason for fans to shell out a few bucks and come to the United Center.
Or maybe, just maybe, things won’t be so dire and he’ll enjoy playing with so many youngsters more than he expected. maybe actually want to stay. Maybe then I’ll sign a cheap contract for a year. Or maybe he signs elsewhere, satisfied that his Blackhawks career ended on his own terms. If so, April 13 vs. Philadelphia — against whom he won his first Cup and secured his Conn Smythe — is his last game as captain of the Chicago Blackhawks.
• Or maybe this is it. Perhaps, at his age and with his entire body for more than 16 years, he decides to retire at the end of the season, happy with his career and his return, and ready for the next chapter, be the to be.
He didn’t rule out this idea, but it doesn’t seem to be his preference either. He really feels like he has a lot more in the tank.
“I really can’t answer that for you,” he said. “So bored of a response like this, that’s the beauty of it: I can be in the moment. I learned to really love the game again and find the joy in it, and to play with energy, to play with passion, to play at a high level. I feel like I still have a lot to give to this team and the game, and I’m excited to show it not just to myself, but to everyone. However, I don’t feel any pressure to play a certain amount of time. I think I’ll know when I know.
The arrival of new head coach Luke Richardson has helped offset some of Toews’ disappointment with the direction of the franchise. He praised Richardson’s mindset and experience, saying everyone he talked to about the new coach had nothing but good things to say about him.
After all, coaches and players don’t stagnate; team tank And Toews’s eyes lit up when he talked about what the goals of the coaching staff and players will be.
“Luke’s message is that we’re going to work hard, we’re going to be prepared, we’re going to play as a team and we’re going to go out there and try to win every game,” Toews said. . “I am very excited to have the opportunity to play for Luke.”
That said, Toews acknowledged that “you can’t blame them” for failing, either. He and Kane are living proof that hitting rock bottom and getting the top three picks in the draft can lead directly to championships, and he knows it.
So what will the 2022-23 season look like? Which jersey will Toews wear in April? And next October?
You honestly can’t answer that. And frankly, she’s trying not to think about it. Everybody wants to have Malkin’s career, sidney crosby Y kris letang they have had, and will continue to have, in Pittsburgh. But almost everyone else would give almost anything to have the career that Toews and Kane have had, no matter what has happened in the last few years, and no matter what happens in the next few years.
“I’m not going to make any promises in any way,” Toews said. “The fans and the organization should know that my heart and my loyalty go out to them. Chicago is my home. It truly has been the craziest dream I could ever imagine, ever since the day I was drafted. Really, what more could I ask for?
(Top photo: Timothy T. Ludwig/USA Today)