Jonathan Toews

Jonathan Toews
OM
Toews in September 2011
Born (1988-04-29) April 29, 1988 (age 35)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
team
Former teams
Free agent
Chicago Blackhawks
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 3rd overall, 2006
Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career 2007–present

Jonathan Bryan Toews OM (/ˈteɪvz/ TAYVZ born April 29, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is an unrestricted free agent. Toews most recently played for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), where he served as the team's captain between 2008 and 2023. Nicknamed "Captain Serious", Toews was selected by the Blackhawks with the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He joined the team in 2007–08 and was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. The following season he was named team captain, becoming the second-youngest captain in NHL history (after Sidney Crosby) at the time. Toews won the Stanley Cup in 2010, along with the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player in the playoffs. After winning the Cup, Toews passed Peter Forsberg as the youngest player to join the Triple Gold Club. He won the Stanley Cup again in 2013 and 2015.

Toews competes internationally for Canada national teams and has won gold medals at the 2005 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, 2006 and 2007 World Junior Championships, 2007 World Championships, 2010 (a tournament in which he was named best forward) and 2014 Winter Olympics. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players.

Early life

Jonathan was born to Bryan Toews, an electrician at the University of Manitoba, and Andrée Gilbert, a native of Sainte-Marie, Quebec, who was the managing director and finance expert for a credit union in the Winnipeg region before retiring to oversee Toews' media relations. He is bilingual, speaking fluent French and English.

Like Toews, his brother David also attended Shattuck-Saint Mary's and began his freshman year at the University of North Dakota in 2008–09. His cousin Kai Toews is a professional basketball player.

Playing career

Amateur

Toews was selected first overall in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft by the Tri-City Americans, but chose instead to play midget AAA hockey at Shattuck-Saint Mary's, a boarding school in Faribault, Minnesota, during the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons. The decision enabled him to retain his NCAA eligibility. Toews scored 110 points in 64 games in his second season with Shattuck-Saint Mary's before moving on to play college ice hockey.

Toews played two seasons at the University of North Dakota, compiling 85 points (40 goals and 45 assists), a +38 plus-minus rating and a 56.7% faceoff winning percentage in 76 games. He helped UND reach the NCAA Frozen Four in both 2006 and 2007, serving as an alternate captain in his sophomore season. Toews registered 39 points as a freshman and earned Rookie of the Week honours twice. He helped North Dakota capture the Broadmoor Trophy as Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference champions and also was named West Regional MVP after tallying five points.

Going into the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Toews was ranked third among North American prospects by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, and was ultimately chosen third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Chicago Blackhawks

Toews in April 2009

2007–2011

In 2007–08, he opted out of his final two years of college hockey eligibility to debut with the Blackhawks after signing a three-year, entry-level contract on May 16, 2007. He scored his first career NHL goal on his first shot in his first game on October 10, 2007, against the San Jose Sharks. He then recorded the second-longest point-scoring streak to start an NHL career, registering a point in each of his first ten games (five goals and five assists). On January 1, 2008, Toews sprained his knee in a game against the Los Angeles Kings. Despite missing 16 games from the injury, Toews led all rookies in goal-scoring and finished third in points. Toews finished second in team scoring behind fellow rookie Patrick Kane. Toews and Kane battled all season for the lead in team and rookie scoring before Toews went down to injury. The two were both nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year along with Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Bäckström; Toews finished as a runner-up to winner Kane.

Following his successful rookie campaign, Toews was named team captain of the Blackhawks on July 18, 2008. At 20 years and 79 days, he became the third-youngest team captain in NHL history, behind Sidney Crosby and Vincent Lecavalier. This feat was later surpassed by Gabriel Landeskog and Connor McDavid. Toews had previously been named an alternate captain in December 2007, during the 2007–08 season. In the subsequent season, he was voted as a starter, along with teammates Patrick Kane and Brian Campbell, for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal, Quebec. He netted his first career hat-trick in the NHL on February 27, 2009, in a 5–4 overtime loss to Pittsburgh. Toews finished the 2008–09 season with 69 points in 82 games, helping the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup playoff appearance since 2002. He then added 13 points in 17 playoff games as the Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings in five games.

Toews with the Blackhawks during their home opener for the 2010–11 season on October 9, 2010

Less than a month into the 2009–10 season, Toews was sidelined with concussion-like symptoms after receiving an open-ice hit from defenceman Willie Mitchell in a 3–2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on October 21, 2009. Toews had his head down while receiving a pass in the neutral zone when Mitchell left the penalty box and checked him with his shoulder. Toews was sidelined for several games before returning to the line-up.

In the final year of his contract, Toews, as well as teammates Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane, agreed to extensions in early December 2009. His deal was structured similarly to Kane's, worth about $6.5 million annually for five seasons. Toews finished the season with 68 points in 76 games.

During the 2010 playoffs, Toews recorded his second career hat-trick, along with two assists, leading the Blackhawks in a 7–4 playoff victory against Vancouver on May 7, 2010. On June 9, 2010, Toews led Chicago to the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship since 1961, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the Finals. He became the second-youngest captain in the history of the NHL to win the Cup, behind Sidney Crosby, who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to the championship the previous season. Toews scored seven goals and 29 points in the playoffs, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. By winning the Stanley Cup, he also became the youngest player, at 22 years of age, to become a member of the Triple Gold Club (Olympic gold, the Stanley Cup and World Championship).

In the off-season, Toews was selected to be the cover player for EA Sports' video game NHL 11 on June 21, 2010. It marked the first time in EA Sports history that two players of the same team were featured on a video game cover two years in a row, as teammate Patrick Kane had been on the cover of NHL 10.

During the 2010–11 season, Toews recorded a career-high 76 points in 80 games. Due to salary cap constraints, the Blackhawks were forced to trade away many of their players from the previous season's championship-winning team, including Antti Niemi, Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd. As a result, the Blackhawks narrowly made the 2011 playoffs, ending the regular season as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference. Down three games to none in the opening round against the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks won three straight games to force a deciding Game 7. In the contest, Toews scored a short-handed game-tying goal with 1:26 remaining in regulation. The Canucks, however, went on to score five minutes into the ensuing overtime period to eliminate the Blackhawks. Toews had four points in the seven-game series.

2011–2020

Toews was to play in the 2012 All-Star Game, but an injury sustained during a 5–2 loss to the Nashville Predators kept him from playing; he was replaced by Scott Hartnell. Toews finished the 2011–12 season with 57 points in an injury-shortened year. He returned to play at the start of the 2012 playoffs, where he scored the overtime winner in Game 5 to send the series back to Chicago for Game 6, where the opposition Phoenix Coyotes won 4–0 to eliminate the Blackhawks from the playoffs.

In the lockout-shortened season of 2013, Toews returned to top form. He helped the Blackhawks win the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the best record in the regular season. In the 2013 playoffs, Toews led the Blackhawks to a Finals over the Boston Bruins and assisted on the game tying goal scored by Bryan Bickell in game six, Chicago's second title in three seasons. At the end of the year, he was also awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the League's top defensive forward and was named to the NHL second All-Star team.

Toews with the Blackhawks during a preseason game, September 2013

Toews scored the second natural hat-trick of his NHL career on October 29, 2013, against Craig Anderson of the Ottawa Senators. The 2013–14 season finished as another productive campaign for Toews. In 76 games, he scored 28 goals and 40 assists for 68 points. The Blackhawks' 2014 playoff run lasted to overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference Final, and Toews put up 17 points (nine goals and eight assists) in 19 games. For the second year in a row, he finished as a finalist for the Selke Trophy, though he came third in voting behind the winner Patrice Bergeron and first runner-up Anže Kopitar.

On July 9, 2014, the Blackhawks announced that Toews, along with teammate Patrick Kane, had signed an eight-year extension with the Blackhawks at an average annual salary of $10.5 million. The contract came into effect on July 1, 2015, for the 2015–16 season. During Game 7 of the 2015 Western Conference Final, Toews scored the game's first two goals en route to a 5–3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. In the Finals, Toews led the Blackhawks to their third Stanley Cup championship in six seasons after the team's Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2–0. On June 24, Toews was named the recipient of the Mark Messier Leadership Award, awarded to the individual "in recognition of his commitment and service to charities in his community," as well as exemplifying a superior leadership ability in hockey, beating-out fellow finalists Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Ladd. Toews also won an ESPY Award for 'Best NHL Player' in 2015. Electronic Arts selected Toews to appear on the cover of NHL 16.

Toews was selected to play in the 2016 All-Star Game, but missed the game on account of illness. He was suspended for one game per NHL rules for not attending the All-Star game.

During the 2016–17 Chicago Blackhawks season, Toews suffered a back injury that forced him to miss nine games. He was voted into the 2017 National Hockey League All-Star Game.

Toews' productivity declined during the 2017–18 season, where he posted a career-low 52 points. He revealed he adopted a new training regimen and nutrition plan to help him better prepare for the upcoming season.

A rejuvenated Toews tallied a career-high 81 points while appearing in all 82 games for Chicago during the 2018–19 season.

Toews appeared in 70 games during the 2019–20 Chicago Blackhawks season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He recorded 18 goals and 42 assists during the campaign while eclipsing the 800-career point milestone. Toews also totaled a team-high nine points in nine games during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

2020–2023

On December 29, 2020, shortly before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic shortened 2020–21 season, the Blackhawks announced Toews would be out indefinitely while recovering from an undisclosed illness. He missed the entire season before announcing in June 2021 that he was diagnosed with chronic immune response syndrome (CIRS) and that he planned to return for the 2021–22 season.

In September 2021, he said an antibody test revealed he had COVID-19 at some point. Toews played the 1000th regular season game of his career on March 31, 2022. Toews appeared in 71 games for the Blackhawks, where he recorded 12 goals and 25 assists for a career-low 37 points. He also maintained a 57% faceoff win-rate, which was third best in the NHL among centers with at least 1000 faceoff draws.

Toews bounced back during the first half of the 2022–23 season with 14 goals and assists for 28 points in 46 appearances. However, Toews' health deteriorated midway through the season causing him to miss several weeks. He announced on February 19, 2023, that he was still suffering from symptoms of long COVID and CIRS. He offered no timetable for his return, commenting, "it has reached the point where I had no choice but to step back and concentrate on getting healthy." Toews returned to the Blackhawks' lineup after a two-month absence on April 1. On April 13, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson announced that the team would not re-sign Toews after his contract expired at the end of the season.

On August 17, Toews announced he was not retiring from the NHL, but rather sitting out the 2023–24 season to focus on his health.

International play


Toews with the Canadian national men's hockey team in the 2010 Winter Olympics
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver
Gold medal – first place 2014 Sochi
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Russia
Silver medal – second place 2008 Canada
Canada Cup / World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2016 Toronto
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Canada
Gold medal – first place 2007 Sweden
Representing Canada Canada West
World U-17 Hockey Challenge
Gold medal – first place 2005 Alberta

In 2005, Toews captained Canada West at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge to a gold medal. He scored the game-winning goal in a 3–1 win over Canada Pacific in the championship game. He finished with 12 points, ranked first in tournament scoring, and was named tournament MVP.

In his draft year, Toews competed on Canada's junior team at the 2006 World Junior Championships as the youngest player on the team. He tallied two assists during the tournament, both against Norway in preliminary play, as Canada ultimately defeated Russia in the gold medal game, 5–0.

In 2007, Toews earned a second-straight World Junior gold medal. In the tournament semi-final against the United States, Toews scored three times in the shootout to advance to the final. With seven points, Toews led Canada in scoring and was named to the Tournament All-Star team alongside teammate Carey Price. Shortly after his gold medal win, Toews was honoured by his hometown American Hockey League (AHL) team, the Manitoba Moose, on February 3, 2007, as he was presented with an honorary jersey for his tournament efforts.

Toews guards the puck from Ryan Suter during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

That same year, Toews also made his senior international debut at the 2007 World Championships and recorded seven points in nine games competing against mostly professional players after just his second year of college hockey (at the time of selection, Toews had not yet turned professional). Canada earned gold over Finland 4–2 in the championship game. After the victory, Toews became the first Canadian to win a World Junior championship and a World Championship in the same year. On June 29, 2007, Toews was awarded the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, an award given by the Province of Manitoba in honour of sporting achievements, for his play in the junior and senior world championships.

After Toews' rookie year in the NHL, he competed in his second World Championships in 2008. In the finals, Canada was defeated by Russia 4–5 in overtime, winning the silver medal.

On December 30, 2009, Toews was selected to play for Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was named to the squad along with Blackhawks teammates Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. He ended the tournament with a team-leading eight points, while his seven assists tied with Pavol Demitra of Slovakia for the tournament lead. Toews' lone goal of the tournament opened the scoring in Canada's 3–2 overtime win in the gold medal game against the United States. As a result, he was awarded Best Forward and tournament all-star team honours. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he scored the first goal in the gold medal game against Sweden on the way to Canada's second-straight Olympic gold medal.

Personal life

In January 2007, Toews and former North Dakota teammate T. J. Oshie received alcohol-related citations for being minors in a Grand Forks, North Dakota, tavern. Toews and Oshie pleaded guilty to the charges. The two were later placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.

In the spring of 2010, a large mural of Toews visible from the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago received a degree of notoriety. The mural depicted Toews with an abnormally shaped nose and mouth, posed beside a picture of the Stanley Cup. Toews would end up holding the Cup after winning it later that year. He commented on the mural, stating: "I guess it's from a picture and they must have embellished it a little bit. They're not helping me by any means."

Following the celebration of Toews bringing the Stanley Cup to his hometown of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba announced that it would be naming a northern lake after Toews in honour of his success. The lake is located 150 km (93 mi) north of Flin Flon and is named Toews Lake. The same day, the Dakota Community Centre in St. Vital where Toews first played organized hockey was renamed the Jonathan Toews Community Centre. Additionally, he was given the Keys to the City to honour his achievement and strong work ethic.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Bold indicates led league

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Winnipeg Warriors Bantam AAA 48 98 95 193
2003–04 Shattuck–Saint Mary's Midget AAA 70 64 54 118
2004–05 Shattuck–Saint Mary's Midget AAA 64 48 62 110 38
2005–06 University of North Dakota WCHA 42 22 17 39 22
2006–07 University of North Dakota WCHA 34 18 28 46 22
2007–08 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 64 24 30 54 44
2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 82 34 35 69 51 17 7 6 13 26
2009–10 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 76 25 43 68 47 22 7 22 29 4
2010–11 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 80 32 44 76 26 7 1 3 4 2
2011–12 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 59 29 28 57 28 6 2 2 4 6
2012–13 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 47 23 25 48 27 23 3 11 14 18
2013–14 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 76 28 40 68 34 19 9 8 17 8
2014–15 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 81 28 38 66 36 23 10 11 21 8
2015–16 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 80 28 30 58 62 7 0 6 6 10
2016–17 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 72 21 37 58 35 4 1 1 2 0
2017–18 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 74 20 32 52 47
2018–19 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 82 35 46 81 40
2019–20 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 70 18 42 60 48 9 5 4 9 2
2021–22 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 71 12 25 37 39
2022–23 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 53 15 16 31 43
NHL totals 1,067 372 511 883 607 137 45 74 119 84

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2005 Canada West U17 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 8 4 12 2
2005 Canada U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 5 3 8 0
2006 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 0 2 2 2
2007 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 4 3 7 12
2007 Canada WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 9 2 5 7 6
2008 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 9 2 3 5 8
2010 Canada OG 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 1 7 8 2
2014 Canada OG 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 1 2 3 0
2016 Canada WCH 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 3 2 5 0
Junior totals 23 17 12 29 16
Senior totals 37 9 19 28 16


Awards, honours and championships

Toews holds onto the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to him after the Stanley Cup Finals; as his teammate, Patrick Kane, hoists the Stanley Cup during the 2010 Stanley Cup victory parade
Toews hoists the Stanley Cup during the 2013 Stanley Cup victory parade
Toews hoists the Stanley Cup during the 2015 Stanley Cup victory rally
Award Year Ref
College
All-WCHA Second Team 2006–07
AHCA West first-team All-American 2006–07
WCHA All-Tournament Team 2007
NCAA West Regional MVP 2006
NHL
Stanley Cup champion 2010, 2013, 2015
Conn Smythe Trophy 2010
Frank J. Selke Trophy 2013
Mark Messier Leadership Award 2015
NHL All-Star 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017
NHL second All-Star team 2013
International
World U-17 Hockey Challenge MVP 2005
World Junior All-Star team 2007
Winter Olympics gold medalist 2010, 2014
Winter Olympics All-Star selection 2010
Winter Olympics best forward 2010
World Cup of Hockey winner 2016
Other

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