When the Chicago Blackhawks and longtime captain Jonathan Toews parted ways in April, it seemed like the 35-year-old forward was closing the book on his NHL career.
While nothing is official until Toews files the appropriate paperwork with the NHL, all signs point to the former No. 3 overall pick calling it a career after his name was not included in the list of free-agent players sent to the league by CAA, the agency that represents Toews, prior to July 1.
A multi-time NHL All-Star, Toews had quite the 15-year run in Chicago. He scored 372 goals and 883 points over 1,067 games while winning three Stanley Cup championships, two Olympic gold medals, a World Cup of Hockey gold medal, a Conn Smythe award and a Selke Trophy.
Toews was named the Blackhawks captain 2008, when he was the third-youngest player in the NHL to be named a team captain. His 15-year captaincy is the longest in franchise history.
Among the Blackhawks all-time records, Toews ranks third in game-winning goals (69), fifth in postseason goals (45) and postseason points (119), sixth in goals and points, seventh in power-play goals (93) and eighth in assists (262). The Winnipeg native is a surefire Hall of Famer.
Toews likely could continue playing if he wanted. While his time as a top-line center is in the rearview (he scored just 15 goals and 31 points last season), he could have been a serviceable bottom-six center on a team looking to compete for a Stanley Cup. Instead, Toews retires having only played for the Blackhawks, which is exactly what fans would have wanted.
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