The No. 3 pick by the Blackhawks in the 2006 NHL Draft, Toews had 883 points (372 goals, 511 assists) in 1,067 career games with Chicago. Named Blackhawks captain before the 2008-09 season, Toews helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, in 2010 when he had 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists) in 22 postseason games.
At the end of the 2022-23 season, the Blackhawks chose not to re-sign Toews, who was limited to 124 games from the start of the 2020-21 season to the end of the 2022-23 season. He missed the entire 2020-21 season because of Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, and was out from Feb. 21-April 1, 2023, when he was dealing with the effects of long COVID-19.
Named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in 2017 as part of the League’s Centennial celebration, Toews became an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2023. He signed a one-year, $2 million contract with his hometown Winnipeg Jets on June 20, 2025.
He has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 47 games this season for the Jets (19-22-6), who are second-to-last in the Western Conference.
During his final game with the Blackhawks, on April 13, 2023, Toews got a video tribute which he said “was totally unexpected and kind of blindsided me. I’m sure I’ll get the same feeling tonight. Not really sure how to receive that, but like I said, it’s felt good to come back here and see some old friends and just feel that reception once again.”
The 37-year-old spent Sunday night in Chicago having dinner with his parents and former Blackhawks teammates Andrew Shaw, Kris Versteeg and Troy Brouwer.
“It was a fun night last night, and tonight I’ll definitely be excited,” Toews said. “A lot of energy to play the game and just try to go out there and play my best.”
Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said he doesn’t know Toews well but expressed admiration for his career.
“There are great point-getters and there are great winners, and for me he’s a great winner,” he said. “It’s what we’ve talked about with our group from Day 1 here is we want our guys to become those winning-type championship-level players that understand you have to check for your offense, understand not every shift are you going to be able to make an amazing play. You pounce when you get the opportunity to pounce and you play smart when you don’t.
“He was just a big-time winner during the time that I watched him here in Chicago. A good model for what we want to be as a group.”
Toews will turn another page in his career after he plays his former team Monday. It’ll be a reminder of the good times he had here and everything he was able to accomplish.
“I think the beauty of our game is it’s so team-oriented, and I think I’m always trying to be cognizant of the fact that I was thrown into a really incredible opportunity,” Toews said. “I give myself credit and definitely had a lot of will and energy coming into my career as a young kid here in Chicago, but it was just a perfect storm. We had so many great players that were finding themselves and finding their games at the same time, and just even the trajectory of the organization at the time.
“I played the (IIHF) World Championship after my last year in college (University of North Dakota), and all the guys there were always like, ‘Chicago’s such a great sports city, and once the team gets going it’s going to be a great place to play.’ Sure enough, that came through within a couple of years of being here. Just all the things lining up and being able to take advantage of those opportunities is pretty special.”
