As the Chicago Blackhawks get set to welcome the new face of their franchise, Connor Bedard, at the draft later this month, they’re also preparing to say goodbye to the face of their most successful era in franchise history: Jonathan Toews. As we have previously covered, Toews is expected to make an announcement in the next few weeks regarding whether he’ll be retiring on choosing another team to sign with, and given Toews’ recent health issues it would be no surprise to see the Selke and Conn Smythe Trophy winner hang up his skates.
But if he does choose to continue playing, he could go the way of another famous Blackhawk, Duncan Keith, and choose to play for the Edmonton Oilers. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector connects Toews to the Oilers, writing that “there is some talk” in Edmonton about signing Toews to be the team’s fourth-line center, allowing recent signing Derek Ryan to take a preferred role as a right winger. In scoring 15 goals and 31 points this past season Toews showed he was still very much a valuable NHL player, but the main question for Edmonton would be availability and cost. Regardless, it seems should Toews continue his career the Oilers could be a team interested in acquiring him.
Some other notes from the Western Conference:
- While the Arizona Coyotes rebuild will continue into the future and the team will likely be open to hearing trade offers for its established players, the player teams are likely to be most interested in is also the one seemingly least likely to be traded. Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports that the Coyotes aren’t “looking to move” star forward Clayton Keller and that they don’t have “any real interest” in parting with their franchise face. Keller, 24, continued his breakout season from 2021-22 into this campaign, finishing with 37 goals and 86 points in 82 games. He’s signed to a bargain $7.15MM AAV deal through the 2027-28 season, and according to Strickland’s report he’s unlikely to be on the move anytime soon.
- One player who is going to be on the move is St. Louis Blues center Logan Brown. Eligible to become a restricted free agent, Strickland reports that Brown won’t receive a qualifying offer from the Blues and will therefore become an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year. The 25-year-old 2016 11th-overall pick didn’t quite take the step forward in St. Louis that many might have hoped he would, and while he remains an effective AHLer he hasn’t found a way to leverage his combination of size and skill to reliably make an impact at the NHL level. With his time in St. Louis coming to an end, he’ll hit the open market where there will likely be some teams interested in seeing what their staff can do with Brown’s skillset.
Obviously Toews can still play, but I can’t see anyone signing him to anything beyond a low-ball bonus-laden 35+ contract.
Not sure if Toews can still play but I’m sure if he decides to play somebody will take a chance on him. I’ll just wait to see what he says.
Toews just another one to add to the long list of guys that can’t let go.
Well, I remember Wilf Paiement with the old Colorado Rockies, so at least in name you are still licking around hockey too!
can’t let go? he hasn’t said if he is still playing or not so how can you say that. plus the guy played out his contract.
Just another dumb comment by WP
Bedards gonna be a flop
Guess who’s team LOST the lottery? Bedard can’t be as lame and petty as this person.
Being a little harsh there, don’t you think? Odds are that first overalls aren’t busts, but I can name you a number that either have been total busts (Yakupov, Stefan, Daigle, DiPietro) or who just didn’t justify being drafted anywhere near so high (Jovanovski, Wickenheiser, Phillips, Johnson). It’s not self-evidently lame or petty to suggest that there’s no more ironclad certainty Bedard’s divinely ordained to be a superstar than it was any of the rest of them.
Nah. He’s the guy who breaks up with his girlfriend( Or Boyfriend) and then goes to the pub and writes their phone # on the wall and says for a goo0d time call………. Just a bore with nothing to say. If that was directed at me.
Bedard will be good I’d reckon, but to be honest, is it even possible he lives up to his prospect aplomb? Gotta be the 2nd best player in the game (behind McDavid) for that to happen, right?
Curious to see if the meeting with ownership and Clayton Keller takes place. It was reported a few weeks back he wanted to be informed of what is the next step. I would not be shocked he request a trade if the future is not what he is looking for. If that is the case might as well move him and not wait. His value is pretty high right now.