Even with the NHL off-season entering its slow period, the rumour mill never stops churning. This edition of NHL rumours looks at the Chicago Blackhawks and the uncertain future of their captain Jonathan Toews. Toews is entering the final season of his eight-year contract with the Blackhawks, the only team he’s ever played for over 14 seasons. Over the past few months, Chicago has traded Brandon Hagel, Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach. These trades have netted the ‘Hawks four first-round picks, two second-round picks, a third-round pick, Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh. They are going for a scorched earth rebuild. With the Blackhawks committed to a re-build, will the 34-year-old Toews want to finish the rest of his career on a rebuilding team?
Jonathan Toews’s Future
Rumour: Mark Lazerus of the Athletic interviews Toews about his future, and after talking with him, Lazerus writes, “At this point, it feels more like when, not if, Toews follows so many of his teammates out the door.”
Analysis: Lazerus writes that Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said they would like to keep Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to guide the young players. If Toews wants to stay, there is a path for him. The question is, does he? During the interview, Toews said the timeline for the rebuild is over five years, and that sounds “pretty daunting and pretty exhausting to think about.” He did say he doesn’t know what his future holds, but the daunting timeline allows for the possibility that he could leave. Let’s look at both scenarios.
Finish at Home
Let’s start with the idea that he stays. Toews’s permanent home is in Chicago, and he did say his heart and loyalty are with the fans there. He could stay and direct this rebuild on the correct course before retiring. Toews has three Stanley Cups, two Olympic Gold Medals and a Selke Trophy, what else does he need? He could shelter the young players and teach them how to become a winning hockey team. Toews does have experience propelling a team from the bottom to the top. As a young player, he was a driving reason why the Blackhawks catapulted from one of the worst teams in the league in the 2000s to one of the best in the early to mid-2010s.
Look For a New Challenge
If Toews decides he won’t re-sign, the Blackhawks would love to trade him before then, but that will be tricky. At best, the Blackhawks can retain 50% of Toews’s $10.5 million cap hit. Leaving the acquiring team on the hook for $5.25 million. That’s a lot of money in a tight salary cap league. It’s unclear if Toews will be worth it. He scored a career-low 37 points this past season, but it’s understandable because this was his first season back after missing the entire 2021 season because of chronic immune response syndrome.
He will probably be better next year because of having a better summer to prepare with not having to bounce back from a year off. Toews talked about him feeling better this summer than last year in the article. How much better Toews can be is unclear. He scored 24 points in the team’s last 41 games this year, which puts him at a 47-point pace over an entire season. He could be a 50-60 point guy next season. Realistically, a team will take that cap hit to acquire a two-way centre with loads of Stanley Cup experience.
What Will Happen
It’s hard to predict where Toews will land with the season not even starting yet. If the Winnipeg Jets become a good team again, I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a push. Based on Pat Brisson saying his client Pierre-Luc Dubois wants to play in Montreal, Dubois is probably not a long-term Jet, and they will have to replace him at the centre. The Jets could trade him and bring in Jonathan Toews. For Toews, he will have the comfort of going to play in his hometown.
Jonathan Toews: Blackhawks’ 5-year plan ‘doesn’t sound appealing to me at all.’ 😳 https://t.co/fTrd6aAX86 pic.twitter.com/vm2oOITt3H
— theScore (@theScore) July 27, 2022
