Jonathan Toews

Toews was selected first overall in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft by the Tri-City Americans,[7] but chose instead to play midget AAA hockey at Shattuck-Saint Mary's, a boarding school in Faribault, Minnesota, during the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons. The decision enabled him to retain his NCAA eligibility. Toews scored 110 points in 64 games in his second season with Shattuck-Saint Mary's before moving on to play college ice hockey.[8]

Toews played two seasons at the University of North Dakota, compiling 85 points (40 goals and 45 assists), a +38 plus-minus rating and a 56.7% faceoff winning percentage in 76 games. He helped UND reach the NCAA Frozen Four in both 2006 and 2007, serving as an alternate captain in his sophomore season.[9] Toews registered 39 points as a freshman and earned Rookie of the Week honours twice.[10] He helped North Dakota capture the Broadmoor Trophy as Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference champions and also was named West Regional MVP after tallying five points.[10]

Going into the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Toews was ranked third among North American prospects by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau,[10] and was ultimately chosen third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks.[11][12]

In 2007–08, he opted out of his final two years of college hockey eligibility to debut with the Blackhawks after signing a three-year, entry-level contract on May 16, 2007.[13] He scored his first career NHL goal on his first shot in his first game on October 10, 2007, against the San Jose Sharks. He then recorded the second-longest point-scoring streak to start an NHL career, registering a point in each of his first ten games (five goals and five assists).[14] On January 1, 2008, Toews sprained his knee in a game against the Los Angeles Kings.[15] Despite missing 16 games from the injury, Toews led all rookies in goal-scoring and finished third in points. Toews finished second in team scoring behind fellow rookie Patrick Kane. Toews and Kane battled all season for the lead in team and rookie scoring before Toews went down to injury. The two were both nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year along with Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Bäckström;[16] Toews finished as a runner-up to winner Kane.[17][18]

Following his successful rookie campaign, Toews was named team captain of the Blackhawks on July 18, 2008. At 20 years and 79 days, he became the third-youngest team captain in NHL history, behind Sidney Crosby and Vincent Lecavalier.[14] This feat was later surpassed by Gabriel Landeskog and Connor McDavid.[19] Toews had previously been named an alternate captain in December 2007, during the 2007–08 season.[20] In the subsequent season, he was voted as a starter, along with teammates Patrick Kane and Brian Campbell, for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal, Quebec.[21] He netted his first career hat-trick in the NHL on February 27, 2009, in a 5–4 overtime loss to Pittsburgh.[22] Toews finished the 2008–09 season with 69 points in 82 games,[23] helping the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup playoff appearance since 2002.[24] He then added 13 points in 17 playoff games as the Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference Finals,[25] where they were eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings in five games.[26]

Toews with the Blackhawks during their home opener for the 2010–11 season on October 9, 2010

Less than a month into the 2009–10 season, Toews was sidelined with concussion-like symptoms after receiving an open-ice hit from defenceman Willie Mitchell in a 3–2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on October 21, 2009. Toews had his head down while receiving a pass in the neutral zone when Mitchell left the penalty box and checked him with his shoulder.[27][28] Toews was sidelined for several games before returning to the line-up.[29][30]

In the final year of his contract, Toews, as well as teammates Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane, agreed to extensions in early December 2009. His deal was structured similarly to Kane's, worth about $6.5 million annually for five seasons.[31] Toews finished the season with 68 points in 76 games.[32]

During the 2010 playoffs, Toews recorded his second career hat-trick, along with two assists, leading the Blackhawks in a 7–4 playoff victory against Vancouver on May 7, 2010.[33] On June 9, 2010, Toews led Chicago to the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship since 1961, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the Finals. He became the second-youngest captain in the history of the NHL to win the Cup, behind Sidney Crosby, who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to the championship the previous season. Toews scored seven goals and 29 points in the playoffs, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.[34] By winning the Stanley Cup, he also became the youngest player, at 22 years of age, to become a member of the Triple Gold Club (Olympic gold, the Stanley Cup and World Championship).[35]

In the off-season, Toews was selected to be the cover player for EA Sports' video game NHL 11 on June 21, 2010. It marked the first time in EA Sports history that two players of the same team were featured on a video game cover two years in a row, as teammate Patrick Kane had been on the cover of NHL 10.[36]

During the 2010–11 season, Toews recorded a career-high 76 points in 80 games. Due to salary cap constraints, the Blackhawks were forced to trade away many of their players from the previous season's championship-winning team, including Antti Niemi, Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd. As a result, the Blackhawks narrowly made the 2011 playoffs, ending the regular season as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference. Down three games to none in the opening round against the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks won three straight games to force a deciding Game 7. In the contest, Toews scored a short-handed game-tying goal with 1:26 remaining in regulation. The Canucks, however, went on to score five minutes into the ensuing overtime period to eliminate the Blackhawks.[37] Toews had four points in the seven-game series.

Toews was to play in the 2012 All-Star Game, but an injury sustained during a 5–2 loss to the Nashville Predators kept him from playing; he was replaced by Scott Hartnell.[38] Toews finished the 2011–12 season with 57 points in an injury-shortened year.[39] He returned to play at the start of the 2012 playoffs, where he scored the overtime winner in Game 5 to send the series back to Chicago for Game 6,[40] where the opposition Phoenix Coyotes won 4–0 to eliminate the Blackhawks from the playoffs.[41]

In the lockout-shortened season of 2013, Toews returned to top form. He helped the Blackhawks win the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the best regular-season record. In the 2013 playoffs, Toews led the Blackhawks to a Finals over the Boston Bruins and assisted on the game tying goal scored by Bryan Bickell in game six, Chicago's second title in three seasons. At the end of the year, he was also awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the League's top defensive forward and was named to the NHL second All-Star team.[42]

Toews with the Blackhawks during a preseason game, September 2013

Toews scored the second natural hat-trick of his NHL career on October 29, 2013, against Craig Anderson of the Ottawa Senators.[43] The 2013–14 season finished as another productive campaign for Toews. In 76 games, he scored 28 goals and 40 assists for 68 points. The Blackhawks' 2014 playoff run lasted to overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference Final, and Toews put up 17 points (nine goals and eight assists) in 19 games. For the second year in a row, he finished as a finalist for the Selke Trophy, though he came third in voting behind the winner Patrice Bergeron and first runner-up Anže Kopitar.[44]

On July 9, 2014, the Blackhawks announced that Toews, along with teammate Patrick Kane, had signed an eight-year extension with the Blackhawks at an average annual salary of $10.5 million. The contract came into effect on July 1, 2015, for the 2015–16 season.[45] During Game 7 of the 2015 Western Conference Final, Toews scored the game's first two goals en route to a 5–3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.[46] In the Finals, Toews led the Blackhawks to their third Stanley Cup championship in six seasons after the team's Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2–0.[47] On June 24, Toews was named the recipient of the Mark Messier Leadership Award, awarded to the individual "in recognition of his commitment and service to charities in his community," as well as exemplifying a superior leadership ability in hockey, beating-out fellow finalists Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Ladd.[48] Toews also won an ESPY Award for 'Best NHL Player' in 2015.[49] Electronic Arts selected Toews to appear on the cover of NHL 16.[50]

Toews was selected to play in the 2016 All-Star Game, but missed the game on account of illness. He was suspended for one game per NHL rules for not attending the All-Star game.[51]

During the 2016–17 Chicago Blackhawks season, Toews suffered a back injury that forced him to miss nine games.[52] He was voted into the 2017 National Hockey League All-Star Game.[53]

Toews' productivity declined during the 2017–18 season, where he posted a career-low 52 points.[54] He revealed he adopted a new training regimen and nutrition plan to help him better prepare for the upcoming season.[54]

A rejuvenated Toews tallied a career-high 81 points while appearing in all 82 games for Chicago during the 2018–19 season.[55]

Toews appeared in 70 games during the 2019–20 Chicago Blackhawks season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He recorded 18 goals and 42 assists during the campaign while eclipsing the 800-career point milestone.[56] Toews also totaled a team-high nine points in nine games during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.[57]

On December 29, 2020, shortly before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic shortened 2020–21 season, the Blackhawks announced Toews would be out indefinitely while recovering from an undisclosed illness.[58] He missed the entire season before announcing in June 2021 that he was diagnosed with Chronic Immune Response Syndrome (CIRS) and that he planned to return for the 2021–22 season.[59]

In September 2021, he said an antibody test revealed he had COVID-19 at some point.[60] Toews played the 1000th regular season game of his career on March 31, 2022.[61] Toews appeared in 71 games for the Blackhawks, where he recorded 12 goals and 25 assists for a career-low 37 points.[62] He also maintained a 57% faceoff win-rate, which was third best in the NHL among centers with at least 1000 faceoff draws.[62]

Toews bounced back during the first half of the 2022–23 season with 14 goals and assists for 28 points in 46 appearances. However, Toews' health deteriorated midway through the season causing him to miss several weeks. He announced on February 19, 2023, that he was still suffering from symptoms of long COVID and CIRS. He offered no timetable for his return, commenting, "it has reached the point where I had no choice but to step back and concentrate on getting healthy."[63] Toews returned to the Blackhawks' lineup after a two-month absence on April 1.[64] On April 13, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson announced that the team would not re-sign Toews after his contract expired at the end of the season.[65]

On August 17, Toews announced he was not retiring from the NHL, but rather sitting out the 2023–24 season to focus on his health.[66]

Bold indicates led league