Jonathan Toews Set for Comeback With Jets After Long Health Hiatus and Injury Scare
It will be quite the scene when Toews skates out with his hometown team
The Winnipeg Jets are fresh off a Presidents' Trophy-winning campaign that ended with a second-round exit at the hands of the Dallas Stars.
They'll get further than that next spring, but right now, the Jets have one of the best comeback stories in the NHL with forward Jonathan Toews.
The former Blackhawks captain needs no introduction (but I'm going to give him one). He led the team to three Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015, but hasn't played a game in the NHL since the 2022-23 season. According to Sportsnet, this was thanks to a double-whammy of long COVID symptoms and chronic inflammatory response syndrome.
But Toews battled back, and this summer he signed a deal with the Jets, his hometown team.
Then, as the opening day rosters were being announced, it looked like Toews' return may be on hold after he sustained an injury in training camp.
Jonathan Toews returns from long COVID and injury to make his Jets debut in Winnipeg’s season opener vs. Dallas. (Getty Images)
However, it was revealed on Thursday that Toews has been given the green light to make his Winnipeg debut in the team's season opener, which is at home against the Stars.
"I just feel I’m at that point where I kind of want to stop talking about it," Toews said. "I just want to go play hockey."
The 37-year-old has played in over 1,000 NHL games, and a lot of those were big ones. But Thursday night in Winnipeg will be a different kind of big game for the 2010 Conn Smythe winner.
"Just go out there and try and create that good feeling that you’re going to get a bounce and you’re going to get lucky, and you’re going to find a way to make something happen," he said. "That’s my mindset tonight, to really buy into the system and go out there and support my teammates, but also have that feeling that you can make mistakes because you got four other guys that are playing really smart hockey behind you as well.
"I’m just going to go out there and have fun, not think about it too much. Like I said, [the] emotion hasn’t really kicked in yet, haven’t really felt any nerves yet, but I’m sure I will tonight."
According to the Jets' website, Toews will likely center the Jets' second line with Gustav Nyquist and Nikita Chibrikov on the wings.