Rumours have swirled around about Jonnathan Toews and the Jets for three years now. After announcing his intentions to return, should the Jets sign Jonnathan Toews? What do the numbers suggest?

47 comments

  4. Numbers suggest he might be ok on the 4th line. Certainly not the 2nd

  5. If he is used based on his play it is fine. If he is used based on his name it is not.

  6. > when Brad Lambert was only eight years old.

    Hm, interesting comparison to choose there, Garret, interesting indeed. I wonder you might be hinting at something. I wonder…

  7. Honestly no I’d rather start getting the prospects a chance to compete for roster spots vs taking Toews who looked old and slow when he was finished playing.

  8. For league min I don’t see why not. People act like his age is a deal breaker but Corey Perry is still doing his thing at 40.

  10. Just can’t have your expectations very high if he does sign here is all… Could be Eric Fehr type numbers/situation (home town’ish guy)

  11. Yes. Assuming the price is reasonable. His experience helps in the playoffs and that’s what we need.

  14. It depends on money and term. If it’s reasonable and he doesn’t expect a 4 year deal, then yes. I know he has had significant health problems, but I think they are behind him. If he is conditioned and ready to go, he is probably still a good player. Smart, does all the right things. I don’t think he is scoring 35 goals, but I think he might still be a 30-40 point player who can win faceoffs. He’s also a guy who has another gear in the playoffs. I don’t want him to hamper someone’s development – I don’t want him keeping someone from making the club that we need to be a 60-70 point player down the line, but I think he can teach a lot and contribute.

    HE WINS FACEOFFS. That’s going to work for us whether he’s 37 or 47. Who knows, he’s the kind of guy who could still have something significant to give. I wouldn’t be surprised that if healthy, he could help the 2nd line if we are in need.

  15. Many good reasons to sign Toews.

    – Mentor for Lambo and Yager
    – Cup winning leadership
    – Faceoff specialist
    – can fill 2C-4C
    – Hometown hero

    I’m sure there’s more but those are enough to sign him to our contending team.

  16. Jets should sign Toews … as an assistant coach.

    They need to give their younger players an opportunity

    Yager, Barlow, Lambert, Chibrikov all appear deserving of a shot to develop at the NHL level.

  18. Jonathan Toews would be a fantastic signing not just for contribution to 5v5 offensive but also as a teacher for our young core coming up. Where he slots in doesn’t really matter imo, as a player like Toews at this point in his (and I’ll note legendary) career would most likely be playing for different reasons than his NHL salary. He wants to continue his story, and doing that in his home town of Winnipeg would be fantastic, not just for the city, but for our team.

  19. No. Jets could use someone younger for that roster spot. Toews AT MOST could be a 4th liner/benched player or a leadership role with the Moose. He could be a Cal O’Reilly (Milwaukee Admirals player)

  20. My thoughts, for what they’re worth. Definitely sign him. Put him as 3C while our captain is healing. Have him mentor a Young gun that we put in the 2C position. Shift him to 4C once Lowery is back.

  22. If the price is right. It fully depends on who is coming back as, if he has returned to 100% yes pay him his money. But everything is pointing towards a loss in ability, so we know with his age that we most likely can’t offer him more than 3rd or 4th line money and a short term.

  23. For league minimum, sure. And as long as they aren’t signing him with the intention that he’ll come in and be the 2c after missing two years. If that is the case it makes you question how serious they are about winning a cup. Think he could be a valuable piece as a 3/4C.

  28. I don’t see why not. When I look at the Oilers success over the years they have sprinkled their team with misfits, has beens and rejects and they’ve been able to squeeze performance from them mainly in support roles. As long as JT is comfortable with fourth line money in a depth role on a good team I don’t see much if any downside.

  29. Just give him a PTO to training camp and see what he’s got. No harm in that

  30. If he was playing okay, could he and lambert swap 2C/4C depending on the needs? Is that a doable thing?

  31. Toews isn’t coming back for the money so I can’t see that being a factor. I don’t know that he’ll take league minimum, I think his pedigree alone likely begs for more.
    Jets have made it clear their interest. So he’ll then gauge what’s out there elsewhere, compare, and go from there.
    I think many are guilty of romanticizing a hometown return for a guy like Toews. If I had to guess, his choice would be a like-contender that’s NOT in his hometown with the extra attention. Who knows. Hope I’m wrong. I don’t see any realistic downside to bringing him here from Jets POV

  32. I can not imagine this being a solution to a second line centre that we need. Now if we are looking for a 4th line dependable centre with some playoff experience and leadership qualities and its at a leaque minimum I maybe buy that one. If he plays well, and underline if as hes 3 years removed from any hockey, he could provide options up the line up.

    Im not sold on this at all as any solution to much we need unless while away he learned to play right hand defense and reversed age 8 years.

  33. You’re hoping for Corey Perry type contribution. Don’t count on him to be what he was a decade ago but hope that he can bring leadership, score the occasional big goal, win a big face off, etc…even being a 10 goal, 35 point guy puts him as a more useful version of most of the current bottom 6 guys.

  36. PTO first. If he succeeds, it’ll be cool if we did a low contract (1-2M) with a few performance bonuses so he’s rewarded for healing.

    His off-ice antics will be worth keeping him too. His captaincy experience for our upcoming captain material (Yager and Lambert), teach his face-off antics, forge the team during playoffs since he’s already got a few rings. Hometown hero aside, he’ll be a valuable asset in every possible term even if he sits in the pressbox (worse case scenario).

  37. LOL I fixed the typo in “Jonnathan” bahaha I can’t believe I missed that!

    Is there a way I can fix it in the reddit post?

  38. I’d sign him to the league minimum 2 way contract. Depending on how camp goes, probably give him a few games in the AHL to get used to playing at a professional level, could be a bottom forward, good veteran presence and he’s a proven winner. Also if memory serves me he was really good at face offs something we need help with

  39. Have to evaluate after a tryout , he’s been away for 2+ years and he’s 37. My gut says probably not.

  40. No. He is destined to be on LTIR for most of the year. Even if that doesn’t count against the cap, this team doesn’t have the cash to pay anyone that isn’t playing. imho I’m a homer, but it just isn’t worth the risk. Find a bonafide 2nd line centre instead.

  42. If it’s a dirt cheap cheap 1-2 year contract, maybe? But they also have a legitimate chance and he’s old and not productive, so probably not

  43. We dont need to sign guys for 3rd or 4th line. Spend the money on 2C first.

  44. Yes they should. Please allow me to have not read all the previous comments…

    Take the chance. If he’s an nhl’r 3 years later, he’ll fit.

  47. Great analysis, Garret! I learn a lot from your posts and your insights. Could one make an argument about what else he brings to the team that doesn’t include playtime? Leadership, playoff experience, and mentorship for our up and coming guys? He seems like a great person that would mesh well with our group. What do you think?

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