Three-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Toews made waves this week when he expressed his desire to attempt an NHL comeback.
Toews, who hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2022-23 season, said during an interview with GQ published Sunday that he’d like to try to play in the league once again.
Toews made it clear wants to return, but is the interest mutual from NHL teams and their front offices?
To fully gauge the interest in Toews, the timing of his potential comeback is a key consideration in the whole equation, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Friday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.
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“The biggest question that’s going to be: does he want to play this year or not?” Friedman said. “One of the things that happens is that if you play in any other league, you have to clear waivers, which could make the whole thing really interesting, but I just assume wherever he signs with, that’s where he would go. That’s one of the things everyone is wondering, Are we really talking about this season?“
If Toews were to play in the NHL this season, he would need to be on a team’s reserve list by the March 7 trade deadline to suit up in the post-season.
Aside from the timing, and whether Toews wants to try to return in the 2024-25 campaign, there is no doubt teams are interested in what the two-time Olympic gold medallist could potentially bring to forward group.
“I think there is a lot of interest to talk to (Toews) and see what he’s thinking, I just don’t know how many championship-contender teams are going to want to do this this year,” Friedman said. “That’s still what’s to be determined. But people are really curious, there’s no question about him, there’s a lot of respect for what he’s done in his past, and if he feels healthy, people are going to look at it.”
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli listed three teams he thought could be interested in Toews’ services during a Thursday appearance on Sports on Prime Canada.
“One of them is the Toronto Maple Leafs: a third-line centre has been on Brad Treliving’s wishlist all season long,” Seravalli said. “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 a third-line centre.”
Toews missed the 2020-21 bubble season while recovering from COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome. He returned to play 124 more games in the following two seasons but announced in August 2023 that he was stepping away from hockey to give himself “the time and space to fully heal and enjoy life to the fullest once again.”
The 36-year-old remained out of the spotlight until November, when he shared on Instagram that he had undergone an Ayurvedic Panchakarma detox in India. In the GQ interview, he discussed in depth the many layers of that detox, which included painful massages, meditative yoga and daily laxatives, among other treatments.
“Toews detailed his five-week healing journey in India as he’s been suffering from chronic inflammatory response disorder. He’s feeling the best that he’s had in years,” Seravalli said. “I can tell you that, at this point, that Jonathan Toews has indeed resumed skating, he’s feeling the best that he has in years and he’s also back down to his playing weight.”
In his most recent season in the NHL, Toews scored 15 goals and recorded 16 assists in 53 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2022-23.
