Jonathan Toews Explains Absence, Doesn’t Rule Out NHL Return

Jonathan Toews’ name has slowly begun slipping from hockey dialogue. He led a star-studded career with the Chicago Blackhawks from 2007 to 2023, serving as the team’s captain for 14 seasons and leading the team to three Stanley Cup wins. Toews remained a tremendous lineup piece long after Chicago started to lose their luster – but the 2020s brought a challenge with nagging injuries that the franchise centerman couldn’t overcome. He announced in December of 2020 that he’d miss the entirety of the upcoming, shortened 2020-21 season due to an undisclosed illness, later revealed to be Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS).

Toews rehabbed and returned from the illness in 2021-22, and while he returned to a productive top-line role – the illness still forced him out of 38 games between 2021-22 and 2022-23. Toews announced at the end of the 2023 summer that he would be stepping away from hockey to focus on healing. That journey took him through rounds of alternative medicine, natural healing, and even a five-week trip to India to practice Ayurveda – a traditional healing approach. Toews recently returned from the cross-world trip and opened up to GQ Magazine about what he learned, how he’s feeling, and what future may lie ahead.

Toews opened the interview by explaining that his battles with illness ran deeper than previously foretold. He shared that a lifelong battle with digestive and immune system issues hit a flare in his second season in the league – the 2008-09 season, when a 20-year-old Toews was named Chicago’s captain. He struggled to eat or sleep, and ended up working with a team of doctors to craft a diet tailored to his needs.  That helped Toews get through the next 10 seasons – where he scored 624 points in 721 games, earned three All-Star bids, and won three Stanley Cups – but he says he never once felt like his illness was fully behind him.

Then, Toews caught COVID-19. He explains that the illness perpetuated all of his issues, worsening his energy sink and ability to recover game-to-game. The story of his struggles recovering from COVID have been well documented. Toews explains that he was too caught up in recovery to discuss a contract for the 2023-24 season, leading to him taking another season off. He heard about various approaches to healing over the year, including a recommendation to visit an Indian Sadhu to practice Ayurvedic medicine. One thing led to another, and Toews ultimately decided to take up the unique approach in September of 2023. He said all the while he was driven by a saying from his mother: “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

Toews describes his day-to-day experience in India in-depth. Ultimately, the practices helped him regain control and confidence over his health – and Toews adds that he’s been able to continue to practice Ayurveda back in North America. That has him feeling better, and reconsidering the thought of playing in the NHL. Toews told GQ that his desire to play hasn’t left, and that there’s still a part of him that hasn’t come to terms with his career being over. He spoke optimistically, saying, “There’s never any guarantees in life, but I’m going to give it my best shot.”

Toews’ statement of hope is an encouraging sign, given his career seemed to be at its end. He faces an uphill battle working back into the NHL as a 36-year-old who hasn’t had hockey at front-of-mind since early-2023. But Toews is proudly an all-time-great, posting a career that has already gone down in the history books of an Original Six franchise. He scored 372 goals and 883 points in 1,067 career games; and managed an 81-point season as recently as 2018-19. Toews was significantly less impactful in his most recent two seasons – with just 68 points in 124 games between 2021 and 2023 – but his value as a well-rounded, middle-six centerman could still stand tall.

If Toews does near a return, his decision on where to suit up will be hotly followed. He spent the entirety of his 15-year career with the Blackhawks, who drafted him third-overall in the 2006 NHL Draft. But Toews is a native of Winnipeg, and faced plenty of trade rumors throughout the later years of his career. The Blackhawks could certainly use his help, as they’re currently sat with the fourth-fewest goals in the NHL and a menial 14-18-4 record. Toews could also be a fantastic support to young superstar Connor Bedard, who’s looking to take over Toews’ and Patrick Kane’s mantle as the team’s franchise leader. It’ll be that ability to lead teams and inspire young players that earns Toews a return, though it seems the answers to if and where he’ll return are yet to come – as the Chicago hockey legend works to reintroduce himself to the game.