Winnipeg Jets executive vice president and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, right, and Jonathan Toews laugh during a press conference held to welcome Toews to the team in Winnipeg on Friday.JOHN WOODS/The Canadian Press
There was a time when Jonathan Toews doubted that he would be in this position again: bathed in lights, seated in front of his family and a crowd of journalists.
But there he was on Friday, in his home town of Winnipeg, feeling ever-so-grateful to get his life back, and to be a Winnipeg Jet.
He is 37 and a certain future member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. A former captain and the winner of three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks. A Conn Smythe trophy winner, an Olympic gold medalist, a six-time NHL all-star. In 15 years with Chicago he played 1,204 games in the regular season and playoffs and accumulated 1,002 points.
He sat out the last two seasons, first suffering from long COVID and then the brain fog, debilitating fatigue, inflammation and joint pain of chronic immune response syndrome.
His life as a hockey player had been laid out for him at a very young age. His year to year training routine rarely changed. He was always in peak shape — until suddenly he wasn’t.
In 2024 he went to India for five weeks to detox his body and learn to eat a healthier diet.
“It was very challenging,” Toews said of him reclaiming his strength. “It got to the point where about a year ago that I accepted that I may not ever play hockey again but with or without it I wanted to do the right thing.”
He started to skate in February and since then says he has gotten better every month.
The Jets signed him to a free-agent contract on July 1 for US$2-million. His preceding contract expired in 2023. With that one, he earned US$8.5-million a season for eight years.
He feels he has something to prove.
I feel really blessed to play hockey again,” Toews said. “The closer I got to making a decision the more special it became.”
Toews grew up in St. Vital, a neighbourhood in south-central Winnipeg. He went to Jets’ games as a kid and experienced the famous white-outs that shut down the streets in downtown near the arena.
“It’s truly an honour,” Toews said. “I have so many memories from here when I was a kid. This is where I caught the bug and became passionate for the game.
“It is a dream come true to come back and play in front of my family and friends. I am excited to be part of the city again.”
Kevin Cheveldayoff, Winnipeg’s general manager since its rebirth in 2011, was an assistant GM with the Blackhawks when Toews won his first Stanley Cup the previous year.
When he was hired in Winnipeg he mused about the possibility of bringing Toews to the Jets. What would allow that, of course, was unclear.
“Do you ever think he’d come home?” the club’s governor, Mark Chipman, asked.
Nobody could foresee Toews becoming so gravely ill that his career would be threatened. Nobody could anticipate that would open a door.
“This is a very special day not only for the Jets, but the city of Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba,” Cheveldayoff said.
He became emotional on July 1, after Toews agreed to play for the Jets. Cheveldayoff texted Chipman: “We got Toews.”