Jonathan Toews Set for Emotional Return to Chicago as Jets Face Blackhawks
When Jonathan Toews steps onto the ice at the United Center on Monday night, it won’t just be another game on the schedule. For the longtime Blackhawks captain-who spent 16 seasons in Chicago and helped deliver three Stanley Cups-it’s a homecoming years in the making.
This will be Toews’ first time playing in Chicago since his emotional departure following the 2022-23 season. And while the jersey will be different-now skating for the Winnipeg Jets-the legacy he built in the Windy City is impossible to ignore.
Toews was drafted third overall in 2006 and quickly became the heartbeat of the Blackhawks. From 2007 through 2023, he played 1,067 regular-season games, racking up 372 goals and 511 assists.
But the numbers only tell part of the story. It was the leadership, the clutch performances, and the calm under pressure that defined him.
As captain for 14 of those seasons, Toews helped guide the Blackhawks to Stanley Cup titles in 2010, 2013, and 2015-cementing a dynasty and etching his name into Chicago sports lore.
Now, nearly a year removed from his final game in a Blackhawks sweater, Toews is preparing for what’s sure to be an emotional night.
“I think it’ll be a pretty cool moment for me,” Toews said ahead of the game. “Just being able to have a moment to kind of recognize what the game of hockey does for people in Chicago and what it meant for the city.”
He’s not wrong. During the Blackhawks’ championship runs, the United Center was electric. The city rallied behind those teams, and Toews was at the center of it all-steady, focused, and always delivering when it mattered most.
“You make a lot of sacrifices in your life and you kind of put a lot of things on the back burner,” he said. “But the payoff is incredible-to be part of championship teams that bring such an energy and inspiration to the city.”
It’s a moment that his former teammate and longtime running mate Patrick Kane knows all too well. Kane made his own return to Chicago not long ago, and he expects the reception for Toews to be just as overwhelming-if not more.
“I remember I did three or four different laps and they were still cheering,” Kane said. “And I’m sure it’ll be the same or maybe even more for him.
Obviously, he meant so much to the franchise and the teams I won with. Just being the captain for so long… I’ll definitely be tuning in to watch.”
Toews’ departure from Chicago wasn’t on his own terms. After battling Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and lingering effects of long COVID, his availability became limited-just 124 games over his final few seasons with the team. Ultimately, the Blackhawks chose not to re-sign him after the 2022-23 season, bringing his tenure with the club to a quiet close.
But now, he’s back in the NHL with the Jets and finding his rhythm again. Through 47 games this season, Toews has tallied 18 points-seven goals and 11 assists. It’s not vintage Toews, but it’s a testament to his perseverance and love for the game.
And on Monday night, when he skates out onto the ice in front of a crowd that once roared his name on a near-nightly basis, it won’t be about the stats or the standings. It’ll be about the memories, the banners, and the bond between a city and its captain.
For one night, Jonathan Toews returns not as a visitor, but as a legend coming home.