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IT WAS SUCH A big deal that the premier of Manitoba and the mayor of Winnipeg were there, with many minions in tow, chronicling the event so they could show the hardworking folks exactly how their tax dollars are being spent. About 50 season-ticket holders won a contest to be there, too, and they cheered. Loudly. All because Jonathan Toews put a hockey sweater over his head. It was pretty monumental for the guest of honor, too, who hadn’t heard cheers like that since he played in Marian Hossa’s retirement charity game in Slovakia almost two years ago. At one point, Toews looked at Andree Gilbert, a wonderful ball of energy who was beaming in the front row and waving, and said, “Hi, Mom.”
If you’re getting the idea that Jonathan Toews being repatriated to his hometown team is a rather enormous development, well, like Andree Gilbert, your mother didn’t raise no dummy. That Toews is a big deal in his home province might have occurred to you in 2010, when they named a lake near Flin Flon after him. Yeah, a lake. Or when the Dakota Community Centre, in the St. Vital neighborhood where Toews grew up, was renamed the Jonathan Toews Sportsplex in 2014. Or when he received the Order of Manitoba a year later, joining Sheldon Kennedy and Reggie Leach as the only other hockey players to be recognized. (Jets chairman Mark Chipman and Hockey Night in Canada host Scott Oake are also members.)
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STANLEY TO SHELF
After playing in the 2020 bubble playoffs, Toews missed the entire 2020-21 season due to long COVID.
Just to be clear, there have been some pretty good hockey players to come out of Winnipeg over the years. Bill Mosienko (who scored the fastest hat trick in NHL history), Terry Sawchuk, Andy Bathgate, Babe Pratt and Ken Reardon each have their receipts from the Hockey Hall of Fame. And Mark Stone and Seth Jarvis are ripping it up pretty good in the NHL these days. But none of them ever played big-league hockey in ‘The Peg.’ By our count, fewer than 20 local heroes have played for any one of the three iterations of the Jets – the WHA outfit and the NHL Jets 1.0 and 2.0 – and most of them fall into the “we-barely-knew-ye” category. One exception is goalie Joe Daley, who played more than 300 games with the WHA team and won three Avco Cups. There was one guy named Danny Johnson who played three seasons for the WHA Jets, and he was from Winnipegosis. Never heard of that place before. In fact, it sounds more like the affliction that befalls NHL players who put the Jets on their do-not-trade lists than it does an actual city.
It really got to a point where I couldn’t see myself wearing any other jersey– JONATHAN TOEWS ON COMING HOME TO WINNIPEG
Even though Toews has been out of the game for two years and has suffered some debilitating health issues, he probably could have gone somewhere a little warmer. Or where he’d be taxed a little less. Or where he could go out to dinner without being stared at. But he chose the Jets, who signed him to a one-year deal worth $2 million. With bonuses, that figure could jump as high as $7 million if the Jets win the Stanley Cup and Toews is a regular contributor. And wouldn’t that be something?
In the end, the decision wasn’t really a decision at all. And it didn’t even really have to make any sense. “It really got to a point where I couldn’t see myself wearing any other jersey,” Toews told reporters the day he was introduced in early July. “It wasn’t something where you write down the pros and cons on a piece of paper. To me, it wasn’t rational at all. It was more of an intuitive thing, where it just felt right. You can go over the million reasons why, but I didn’t have to call my mom or dad or my brother – anyone really. I just knew in my heart that this is what I wanted to do. So it felt good every step of the way.”
When John Tavares realized his dream of signing with his hometown team in 2018, he sent out a picture on social media of himself sleeping as a little fellow on his Toronto Maple Leafs bedsheets, which triggered an entire fan base on Long Island. When Toews signed with Winnipeg, he posted a photo of himself, his father and his little brother in garish Jets T-shirts that had SELANNE emblazoned across the chest from arm cuff to arm cuff. The only reason someone isn’t currently doing hard time for that crime against fashion is that it was the ’90s, and, for some reason, people thought that actually looked good.
(SERGEI BELSKI-IMAGN IMAGES)
I just knew in my heart that this is what I wanted to do. So it felt good every step of the way– JONATHAN TOEWS
Toews’ is a feel-good story by any metric. If his unconventional healing journey means he has recovered enough from Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) and long COVID to the point he can make a meaningful contribution to the Jets in their quest for a long playoff run, there’s the potential for some magical moments. (Who knows, if Toews comes out of the gates blazing, does Team Canada Olympic GM Doug Armstrong consider him for the role as the 13th forward in Milan?)
At the very worst, the 37-year-old future Hall of Famer gets an opportunity to go out on his own terms with the team he grew up worshipping. Nothing wrong with that. “I’m not going to sit here and talk about goals and assists and all that,” Toews said. “Ultimately, I will try my best to be honest and realistic with myself as far as what the challenges are. Since I hit the ice and have really been skating these last months, it didn’t feel like that much time had gone by. It is a long time on paper if you are playing hockey. I’m trying to be realistic about what the challenges are.”
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PAST BECOMES PRESENT
Toews showed his excitement for joining his hometown team by posting a childhood photo to Instagram.
One of the biggest challenges for Toews, aside from tempering expectations, will be maintaining the on-ice pace among the best players in the world after missing two seasons while already in his mid-30s in a league that certainly didn’t get any slower in his absence.
And even though there are some examples of Hall of Fame players sitting on the sidelines for at least two seasons at that point in their careers, it’s not a large sample size. Gordie Howe first retired from the NHL just after turning 43 and sat out two years, then dominated the WHA when he came back as a 45-year-old – even playing a final NHL season at 51 after six in the WHA. Mario Lemieux missed three seasons after his first retirement at 31, then came back and was spectacular. Even though he suited up for only 170 of the 324 games Pittsburgh played between his re-debut and his curtain call in his final five NHL seasons, he scored 229 points in that time.
Conversely, Guy Lafleur retired for three seasons at 33 and was just OK when he came back. Dickie Moore sat out two years and returned to join the expansion St. Louis Blues at 36, and it became clear pretty quickly he simply didn’t have it.
But none of those players, including Lemieux, came back at that age from such debilitating circumstances. In reality, Toews hasn’t been himself for about five years. Don’t forget that prior to playing his final two seasons with the Blackhawks, Toews missed the entire truncated 2020-21 season due to a case of long COVID that made it almost impossible for him to get out of bed on some days. He struggled along with the Blackhawks for the next two seasons before becoming a UFA, but he never ended up going to market. Because he simply couldn’t. The affliction Toews has cannot be cured because it’s a syndrome, not a disease, usually associated with exposure to biotoxins. And it’s one that not only left him unable to prepare for or perform in the NHL but also feeling confused and confounded.
I realized, with or without hockey, I wanted to take care of my body. I had kind of accepted I might not play again– JONATHAN TOEWS
Still, they don’t call him ‘Captain Serious’ for nothing. Despite the setbacks, Toews took control of his health, and he now sounds like someone who has a new lease on life. The journey was unconventional, and Toews left no stone unturned, drastically altering his lifestyle and diet. His quest for health took him on an Eat, Pray, Love-type of odyssey to India, where he immersed himself in a practice called Ayurveda, undergoing a five-week detox known as Panchakarma, which is designed to release the toxins stored in the body – toxins that were making him ill.
Toews occasionally talked about his healing journey in India, which included mud baths, pain-inducing massages, yoga sessions, fire-prayer ceremonies and pooping. Lots of pooping. “I realized that, with or without hockey, I wanted to take care of my body,” Toews said. “I wanted to do the right things. I wanted to let life go where it’s supposed to go. I got to the point where I pretty much needed to get myself off a timeline to return. So, in my mind, I had kind of accepted in a way that I might not return to play again. And while it was a challenging thing to do, at the same time, a very healthy thing to do, to wake up every day and not think, ‘This is where we’re going.’ ”
That’s pretty un-Captain-Serious-like. But it worked. After accepting life on life’s terms, Toews began to get healthy. More strength led to longer workouts, which led to feeling good on the ice, which led to Toews believing he could still play in the NHL and make an impact.
And if he’s right, the Jets will have strength to die for down the middle. Adam Lowry is expected to be out until at least the end of October after hip surgery, but when the Jets are whole, their top three centers are Mark Scheifele, Lowry and Toews. In Scheifele, the Jets have a play-driving talent. In Lowry, they have a two-way demon who fights for every inch of the ice and makes every shift as fun as taking on Nick Tarnasky on the golf course. And in Toews, the Jets potentially have another guy who can tilt the ice at both ends and provide the kind of experience and guidance they need. There is nothing Toews has not seen during his career.
“Teams talk about being in those moments,” said Jets coach Scott Arniel. “That’s why those guys who have won championships, won Stanley Cups, are so important. We brought Luke Schenn in this year, and there were times where just him being around a Cup and having that experience and what he said (helped). If it’s one of our third-line players or one of our defensemen or if it’s Adam Lowry having a quiet conversation with him at dinner or in the dressing room, just picking his brain – to be able to do that just speeds up the process. You’re going to pay attention because he’s lived it, he’s done it, and he’s won everywhere that he’s been.”
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You’re going to pay attention because he’s lived it, he’s done it, and he’s won everywhere that he’s been– JETS COACH SCOTT ARNIEL
Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff acknowledged that Chipman has dreamed of this scenario basically since the Jets returned to Winnipeg in 2011. And now, it’s reality – at least for one season. Maybe more. The Jets have done a remarkable job of keeping players around, but they haven’t been able to keep them all. After 10 seasons, Nikolaj Ehlers took advantage of free agency and left, but the acquisition of Toews has helped remove some of the sting from that departure. Contrary to the words of Thomas Wolfe, you can actually go home again.
Toews really has nothing to prove, and this is a low-risk investment for the Jets, too. It will take some time to adjust to Toews not wearing the Blackhawks’ uniform, but the hockey world has had two years to ease itself into that reality. Toews is in a good place with his health and outlook. And he’s in a great place when it comes to putting the final touches on his career, regardless of how it turns out. Someday, there will probably be a statue of Toews outside the United Center, like there is of Dale Hawerchuk in front of the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg. But for now, Toews is focused on the new sweater, not the old one.
“Things change,” he said. “And it is for the best sometimes.”
