Toews receives hero’s welcome as newest Jet I’ll help the team anyway I can, says three-time Stanley Cup champion By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 1:52 PM CDT Friday, Jul. 4, 2025 Last Modified: 5:24 PM CDT Friday, Jul. 4, 2025 Updates

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Home, sweet home.

Jonathan Toews needs no introduction around these parts. The Winnipeg Jets gave him a pretty splashy one anyway on Friday afternoon, formally welcoming one of Manitoba’s most decorated athletes into the fold.

“It’s truly an honour,” Toews told a crowd inside the jam-packed lounge at Canada Life Centre. “The closer I got to really following through and making a decision, the reality began setting in on how special it was.”

General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and head coach Scott Arniel joined Toews at the podium. Dozens of family members and friends were also in attendance, along with Premier Wab Kinew and Mayor Scott Gillingham.

“This isn’t just announcing another signing. That’s because this isn’t just another hockey player,” Scott Brown, the senior director of hockey communications, said at the start of the event, which also included a video montage.

Toews, 37, has chosen Winnipeg to make his NHL comeback this fall after a two-year absence related to health issues. The long-time “Captain Serious” of the Chicago Blackhawks has signed a one-year contract with a base salary of US$2 million and up to US$5 million in bonuses.

“There was a little while when I didn’t want to give too much thought to hockey and tried to get it off my mind, but as I got closer and started thinking I could play again… It was hard to really see myself wearing any other jersey,” said Toews, who will wear his traditional No. 19.

He drew laughter when he began his remarks with a wave and a big smile, saying, “Hi Mom.”

“It’s a dream come true to come back and play in front of my friends and family and be a part of this city again.”–Jonathan Toews

“It’s a dream come true to come back and play in front of my friends and family and be a part of this city again. It’s an honour, one that’s really lit that fire and the excitement for the game,” he said.

The pride of St. Vital described how his passion for hockey began as a young boy watching the original Jets skate at the old Winnipeg Arena.

Now, the man who already has a community club and a provincial lake named in his honour has a chance to create new memories downtown and write a compelling final chapter to his storied career.

“In my mind I had kind of accepted that I might not play again,” Toews said, reflecting on the last two years, which included extensive treatment for long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome (CIRS). He went to India for an Ayurvedic detox called Panchakarma, which is said to help cleanse the body of impurities that can lead to disease.

“The old expression that youth is wasted on the young has come out a lot unfortunately, but that’s just the way it is. Sometimes life throws you some curveballs,” he said.

Toews hasn’t played in a game since April 2023, and he hasn’t suited up in a playoff tilt since the bubble playoffs in Edmonton in 2020. He began ramping up his training in recent months and recently declared himself healthy and ready to return to action.

“I’m just happy to get the chance to play hockey again and just have that energy and that enthusiasm,” he said.

“We all retire at some point. Who knows when that will be? For now, I get to go out and put this sweater on and be part of this team and just enjoy all the good and maybe the not-so-good of what it takes to be an NHL hockey player and knowing that the time is limited for all of us. Just really connecting with that childhood passion again is really important.”

“We all retire at some point. Who knows when that will be?”–Jonathan Toews

Toews’s resume speaks for itself: three Stanley Cups with Chicago (2010, 2013, 2015), two Olympic gold medals (2010, 2014), a World Cup of Hockey gold (2016), two World Junior titles (2006, 2007) and a gold medal at the 2007 IIHF men’s World Championship.

His honours include the 2010 Conn Smythe Trophy, being named the best forward at the 2010 Olympics, and the 2013 Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward.

“This is a very special day not only for True North, the Winnipeg Jets, but the city of Winnipeg and province of Manitoba,” said Cheveldayoff.

The two men go back to their days in Chicago, where Cheveldayoff was assistant GM of the 2009-10 Blackhawks team that won the Cup. He has no doubt Toews is returning to make meaningful contributions, not for a leisurely skate into the sunset.

“With elite athletes, they hold themselves to a different standard. They are wired differently both mentally and certainly physically,” said Cheveldayoff.

Winnipeg’s leadership group—captain Adam Lowry and alternates Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey—played a pivotal role in the process, including conversations with Toews during recruitment.

“It really is unbelievable,” Arniel said of adding a player with Toews’ pedigree.

“I talked to every player on the team, all of our leadership team, I asked their opinion. It was unanimous, everybody feels the exact same way that I do: it will be a big benefit for us both on the ice and off the ice. We just went through free agency, I mean, there’s a lot of names at the top of the list of who is a free agent, but I’d like to think we got the best one.”

“Everybody feels the exact same way that I do: it will be a big benefit for us both on the ice and off the ice.”–Scott Arniel

Arniel wasn’t ready to reveal who Toews might skate alongside to start the season.

“I’ve thrown a lot of names around, and obviously, we have made some additions to our hockey club in the last few days. But at the end of the day, that’s the part about him, he’s such a great player that it will benefit whoever he’s with,” he said.

Toews has appeared in more than 1,200 career NHL games, and he’s eclipsed 20 goals in 12 of his 15 seasons — hitting the 30-goal plateau three times, including in 2018-19, when he had 35 goals and 81 points in 82 games. His reputation for coming through in the clutch is well-earned, as he delivered 45 goals and 119 points in 137 playoff games to go along with 69 game-winning goals during the regular season.

There was no shortage of interest across the NHL in landing Toews before he ultimately decided that Winnipeg offered the best opportunity in terms of role and fit on a contender.

“We have the hometown champ sign with the hometown team to push them over the top — it’s such a great story,” Kinew said.

“And it’ll be really good for the documentary that they make about the Winnipeg Jets winning the Stanley Cup.”

“It’ll be really good for the documentary that they make about the Winnipeg Jets winning the Stanley Cup.”–Premier Wab Kinew

Toews will bolster Winnipeg’s centre depth and provide insulation for top pivot Scheifele. Once Lowry returns from off-season hip surgery, the Jets will have a one-two-three punch down the middle to rival any team in the league.

“I am not going to sit here and talk about goals and assists and all that. Ultimately, I will try my best to be honest and realistic with myself as far as what the challenges are,” said Toews, who has been training in Arizona.

“I watched a lot of hockey in the playoffs this year and there’s a lot of guys at my age that are still contributing in any way that they can, so that’s the outlook I’m coming into this with, too. I’ll do my best to bring that forward and help the team any way that I can.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg

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Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.