CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Jonathan Toews put his Chicago return on his calendar after he signed with his hometown Winnipeg Jets. And then it slipped away as the day approached.<\/p>\n
“I was kind of focusing on the next game, and it kind of sneaks up on you. So here we are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Here we are, indeed.<\/p>\n
Toews was back in Chicago on Monday for his first game in his first NHL home since he signed with Winnipeg on July 1. The 37-year-old center spent his first 15 seasons with the Blackhawks, winning three Stanley Cup titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a weird situation. You don\u2019t get games like this all the time, obviously,\u201d Toews said. \u201cBut just trying to walk that line between, at the end of the day, you want to go out there and play well, and you want to win the game, so you got to keep some level of focus and not get too distracted with all the things going on around you.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Toews was selected by Chicago with the No. 3 pick in the 2006 draft, one of the first big moments in the team\u2019s rise to the top of the NHL. He was just 20 years old when he became the 34th captain in team history in July 2008.<\/p>\n
Toews was part of a core group that helped Chicago put together the best stretch in franchise history, winning the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The Blackhawks also made it to the Western Conference finals in 2014, losing to the Los Angeles Kings in an epic seven-game series.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just super thankful, really grateful. … I\u2019m always trying to be cognizant of the fact I was thrown into a really incredible opportunity,\u201d Toews said. \u201cI\u2019ll give myself credit, I definitely had a lot of will, a lot of energy coming into my career as a young kid here in Chicago, but it was just a perfect storm. We had so many great players that were finding themselves and finding their careers at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Blackhawks celebrated those Stanley Cup teams on Saturday night as part of the festivities surrounding the franchise’s centennial season. So Toews was able to catch up with a handful of his former teammates on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Once nicknamed \u201cCaptain Serious\u201d \u2014 a reputation that faded away as he showed more of his personality over the years \u2014 Toews missed the 2020-21 season and part of the 2022-23 season with what he described as symptoms of long COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome.<\/p>\n
The Blackhawks announced before their 2023 season finale that it would be Toews’ last game with the team, and he was showered with cheers<\/a> throughout a 5-4 loss to Philadelphia.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the one teammate I\u2019ve ever had where you go out with him in public and people won\u2019t just say they\u2019re a \u2018big fan.\u2019 They\u2019ll almost give an emotional thank you to him,\u201d Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy said. \u201cThey\u2019ll literally say, \u2018Thank you for making my life better.\u2019 That\u2019s what people will say to him.\u201d<\/p>\n After taking a couple years off, Toews is adjusting to life with Winnipeg in his return to the NHL. He scored in four consecutive games before he was kept off the scoresheet during Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Toronto.<\/p>\n “I think as time went along I\u2019ve been able to feel more comfortable and just find my game and settle in and find a role on this team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n