After two years away from the game, longtime Blackhawks captain and three time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Toews is making a return to the NHL. After being selected third overall to Chicago in the ’06 draft, Toews went on to captain the Blackhawks back to their glory days during their 2010’s dynasty, winning three cups from 2010-2015, and won the Conn Smythe award as playoff MVP during their first cup win. He was a consistent near 30-goal scorer throughout his career, but made his name off of being a leader and facilitator alongside his linemate Patrick Kane. In his career up to this point, Toews has amassed nearly 400 goals, and almost 900 career points, and being one of this generation’s most loyal and reliable players on and off the ice.

The last time fans saw Jonathan Toews on the ice was in 2023, where after missing the playoffs he announced that he would be stepping away from the game of hockey to recover from health issues including Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and a long case of Covid. Focusing on his health and wellness took Toews out of action for two years, but after having time away to clear his mind and get back into good physical shape, he announced that he was 100% committed to making a comeback to the NHL. Just like how Gabriel Landeskog of the Avalanche was out of action for years at a time, Toews had one target in mind, and that was to step back on the ice and play again. His agent informed the public that he would be taking calls from teams ahead of free agency on July 1st, in order to mutually come to a deal as soon as possible before making a contract official. Rumors started to spread about what teams would be in on signing Toews to a deal, some were speculating Toronto could be heavy favorites to land the 37 year old center, and others thought it would be the perfect opportunity for Toews to head back to his hometown team in the Winnipeg Jets.

The Toews to Winnipeg rumors turned out to be true as the Jets announced that they would be signing Toews to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 NHL season, letting the kid from St.Vital Manitoba get to live out his childhood hockey dream. Details of the contract came out shortly after the news of the agreement, with the base salary being placed at $2 million and the potential to be worth up to $5 million through bonus incentives throughout the season. The incentives include mainly being games played milestones, 20gp, 30gp, all the way up to 60 games played with a bonus of $550,000 for each milestone being reached. There are also bonuses if the Jets make the playoffs and how far they go in their run, along with Toews being able to play in 50% of those games. Overall this is a very low risk deal and definitely a “show me” contract for Toews, being 37 years old and for the Jets, it’s a great value contract to see just how much is left in the tank for former captain.

The Winnipeg Jets are coming off a season that has the franchise perhaps scratching its head.  An incredible regular season that saw them win 56 games and bring home the Presidents Trophy for having the most points as a team in the entire NHL with 116. Their superstar goaltender Connor Hellebuyck had one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory, tallying 47 wins and recording a 2.00 GAA, a .925 SV%, along with eight shutouts on the year. These numbers were good enough to be the standout favorite to win the Vezina Trophy for best goalie in the league, but Hellebuyck also took home the Hart Memorial Trophy as the leagues most valuable player, being the first goalie since Carey Price in 2015 to be awarded both trophies in the same season.

However, after almost succumbing to the “presidents trophy curse” in the first round by being pushed to the edge in a seven game series thriller against St. Louis, the Jet’s season came to an end in round two, falling in six games to the Dallas Stars. Hellebuyck looked like a completely different person in the playoffs and was routinely pulled after getting shelled in both series they played in. The scoring upside is always there, with a main core of Kyle Connor, Mark Schiefele, Cole Perfetti, Adam Lowry, and Nikolaj Ehlers, This Jets team has goal scoring potential up and down the entire roster. But while they also have great veteran leadership from guys like Lowry and Schiefele, you cant’ help but think that a guy like Toews can really bring some immediate impact to this team. No one on this Jets team knows what it’s like to win it all, Toews has done it three times. He’s been around the block more than once and if anyone can come into a room and rally a group in the playoffs to find that extra effort to get over the hump, it’s Jonathan Toews.

Overall fans of the game will be extremely happy to see Toews hit the ice again after a long time away, the the Jets should be just as excited to bring in a guy on such a low risk deal that has so much potential value to get the franchise to where they believe they rightfully belong, at the top of the hockey world as Stanley Cup champions.

Number 19, Jonathan Toews ✈️ pic.twitter.com/rGVIkz2cPi

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) June 20, 2025