Jonathan Toews comeback not happening?

[Honour Over Glory]

Johnny boy Toews has no reason or incentive to come back. What for? He has nothing to prove and is a top 50 player of all time.



I could be wrong but from what I remember he has a girlfriend but is not married. I agree, he's best going right into a coaching role or maybe be a GM. I could see him being a pretty good head coach. Maybe for his beloved Hawks if he's willing to. Toews is an icon in Chicago, they should build a statue of him there.

That's a lot to unpack.

 

[Il Stugotz]

 

[Satan]

looks like Jonny had a great burn

 

[archangel2]

I thought he announced his retirement

 

[rogking65]

Johnny boy Toews has no reason or incentive to come back. What for? He has nothing to prove and is a top 50 player of all time.



I could be wrong but from what I remember he has a girlfriend but is not married. I agree, he's best going right into a coaching role or maybe be a GM. I could see him being a pretty good head coach. Maybe for his beloved Hawks if he's willing to. Toews is an icon in Chicago, they should build a statue of him there.

top 250 player all time maybe

 

[JPT]

I'm going to guess that your coworker is not a pro athlete that would have access to the best trainers, equipment, food etc.

Quality of trainers, equipment, and food won't do you much good if your body is being actively wrecked by an illness that doesn't respond to the quality of trainers, equipment, and food.

 

[Rowlet]

I want to see him as a Canuck so badly, it would make so many people mad

 

[No Fun Shogun]

I want to see him as a Canuck so badly, it would make so many people mad

Eh, Hawks fans were only mildly miffed about Kane signing with Detroit. I doubt him having a swan song in Vancouver would ruffle many feathers. Heck, more than a few Hawks fans would probably root for him to get one more.

 

[banks]

I thought he announced his retirement

Close. He announced that him and the Blackhawks were moving on, so his last game in '22-'23 was known ahead of time to be his last with Chicago. Kind of a classy. It made sure Hawks fans got to appreciate his last game as it was happening.

But he didn't officially retire, and said he's hoping to continue his career if his health allows him to. It just hasn't, so far.

 

[Rowlet]

Eh, Hawks fans were only mildly miffed about Kane signing with Detroit. I doubt him having a swan song in Vancouver would ruffle many feathers. Heck, more than a few Hawks fans would probably root for him to get one more.

I know a lot of Hawks fans from 2007-12 that would be frothing at the mouth, they made hating the Canucks their entire personality for nearly a decade, and it didn't get any better when the Canucks sucked and the Hawks continued to be good.

I'm sure most would just be happy to see Toews get a second chance

 

[Bleedred]

One of the most overrated hockey players since I started watching.

I really didn't wanna come in this thread to shit on him, but I agree with this.

Don't get me wrong, I think he's probably a hall of famer if I had to say (and he will be, no matter if we think he is or not), but for much of his career he was treated as a borderline generational player. It was no doubt because of the fact that he won 3 cups, all in his 20s, with the first coming when he was like 22. And he was the captain for all of those teams. I think he may have even been the youngest captain of a cup team ever in 2010? And he was the youngest skater to ever win the Conn Smythe? Roy and Ward won it younger than him as goalies, but I'm not sure if there was a younger non-goalie Conn Smythe winner than 2010 Toews, who had just turned 22.

And in 2017 he was at the round table with all of those legends when they did the 100 greatest players, and they had players from several different eras sitting there with Doc Emrick discussing their careers. Him and Crosby were there I guess as representatives of the current generation, along with Gretzky and Lemieux from the generation prior and Bobby Orr from the one before that.

I guess they needed someone else along with Crosby to represent the current generation of players, but he clearly stuck out as someone who didn't quite belong in that company.

Again, very good player, I'd probably put him in the hall of fame, but he's not really an all time great, unless you consider anyone in the HOF an all time great.

 

[Bleedred]

If he doesn't play this year I don't think he'll ever play again.

It's not often you see a guy make a comeback at 37 after two whole years out of the league. Guys have sat out before and come back after several years. Mario Lemieux was the most famous, but he was about the same age when he made his comeback in 2000 as Toews was when he played his last game in 2023.

 

[Breakers]

Even Seabrook was saying those playoff runs just lead to too much time in the training room and burnout in his final couple of seasons before IR.
“I told my body to screw off for 15 years”
- Seabrook

That’s what this is with Toews

 

[Hanji]

He's pretty much done if he doesn't play this year.

 

[SEALBound]

Stay retired and live the high life. There's nothing more to prove. Find a local beer league.

 

[Foppberg]

I really didn't wanna come in this thread to shit on him, but I agree with this.

Don't get me wrong, I think he's probably a hall of famer if I had to say (and he will be, no matter if we think he is or not), but for much of his career he was treated as a borderline generational player. It was no doubt because of the fact that he won 3 cups, all in his 20s, with the first coming when he was like 22. And he was the captain for all of those teams. I think he may have even been the youngest captain of a cup team ever in 2010? And he was the youngest skater to ever win the Conn Smythe? Roy and Ward won it younger than him as goalies, but I'm not sure if there was a younger non-goalie Conn Smythe winner than 2010 Toews, who had just turned 22.

And in 2017 he was at the round table with all of those legends when they did the 100 greatest players, and they had players from several different eras sitting there with Doc Emrick discussing their careers. Him and Crosby were there I guess as representatives of the current generation, along with Gretzky and Lemieux from the generation prior and Bobby Orr from the one before that.

I guess they needed someone else along with Crosby to represent the current generation of players, but he clearly stuck out as someone who didn't quite belong in that company.

Again, very good player, I'd probably put him in the hall of fame, but he's not really an all time great, unless you consider anyone in the HOF an all time great.

Agreed. I think he makes the HOF easily, but if it were up to me he wouldn’t be in it.

 

[Look Up]

Damn, the Captain lost his ship and is now wandering around in the desert.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

Oh God. The endless underrating of Toews is one of the biggest memes on this site.

"DAE top 100 but where was Malkin???!!"

Toews was a good litmus test for your level of understanding of the sport and of the responsibilities of a center specifically.

For like a decade he was literally everything you could want in a top line center and was a big part of the reason his teams won those 3 cups. He would absolutely tilt the ice against just about any line in the league, but he didn't put up 200 points so he was 'suxor'.

He was every bit as good, and peaked higher, than Patrice Bergeron who is viewed as a saint around here. But his longevity obviously hasn't been as good.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Quality of trainers, equipment, and food won't do you much good if your body is being actively wrecked by an illness that doesn't respond to the quality of trainers, equipment, and food.

Just diagnosed with a 1.5 benign mass in my brain.

I’m happy its not cancerous and wont kill me directly, but my body is always tired, I’m dizzy a lot and off balance, my memory is foggy and i forget words when i talk and type. No amount of training, equipment or food will help me feel better. You have no idea how right you are.

Dr’s were so eager to pass it off as anxiety for years until i demanded a CT scan and they found the mass. There are more import things than hockey out there and I’m happy Toews found stuff he enjoys.

 

[Crow]

I know a lot of Hawks fans from 2007-12 that would be frothing at the mouth, they made hating the Canucks their entire personality for nearly a decade, and it didn't get any better when the Canucks sucked and the Hawks continued to be good.

I'm sure most would just be happy to see Toews get a second chance

I think that was more about the mouth breathers on your team at the time than it was about the franchise overall.

 

[AlainVigneaultsGum]

Just diagnosed with a 1.5 benign mass in my brain.

I’m happy its not cancerous and wont kill me directly, but my body is always tired, I’m dizzy a lot and off balance, my memory is foggy and i forget words when i talk and type. No amount of training, equipment or food will help me feel better. You have no idea how right you are.

Dr’s were so eager to pass it off as anxiety for years until i demanded a CT scan and they found the mass. There are more import things than hockey out there and I’m happy Toews found stuff he enjoys.

Hey dude, fellow benign brain tumor survivor here.

You f***in got this.

 

[JPT]

Just diagnosed with a 1.5 benign mass in my brain.

I’m happy its not cancerous and wont kill me directly, but my body is always tired, I’m dizzy a lot and off balance, my memory is foggy and i forget words when i talk and type. No amount of training, equipment or food will help me feel better. You have no idea how right you are.

Dr’s were so eager to pass it off as anxiety for years until i demanded a CT scan and they found the mass. There are more import things than hockey out there and I’m happy Toews found stuff he enjoys.

I'm sorry to hear that, but I am glad it's benign at least.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Leafs could use a 3C, if he was willing to come to camp on a PTO...but I don't think it's happening.

It's hard to come back after that layoff at his age with all the miles on his body, he had a GREAT career.

 

[DearDiary]

Toews left the world of hockey as a top 100 player ever. Why would he come back and potentially tarnish that image?

 

[x Tame Impala]

I know a lot of Hawks fans from 2007-12 that would be frothing at the mouth, they made hating the Canucks their entire personality for nearly a decade, and it didn't get any better when the Canucks sucked and the Hawks continued to be good.

I'm sure most would just be happy to see Toews get a second chance

That era came and went for both franchises. I hated those Canucks more than the Redwings and Blues. The players on those Canucks teams are long gone and now I'm at worst neutral to Vancouver if not excited to watch this iteration of them do well.

A healthy, 36 year old, bottom 6 Toews on Vancouver would be a treat to watch and I'd be happy to see him help you guys make a deep run or even win the Cup.