‘Obviously, you want to win that one’

Jonathan Toews knows this won’t just be another game.

Given all that has transpired over the course of nearly two decades with the Chicago Blackhawks, there’s no chance the first meeting against the team that chose him third overall in the 2006 NHL draft could just be one of 82 on the schedule.

The four-second pregnant pause Toews took before answering a question about the significance of the meeting early this week told a story in itself.

“I don’t know. It is what it is. I’m so past that point now,” Toews told the Free Press in a one-on-one interview this week. “It’s been a couple of years. I’ve kind of wrapped my head around (the fact) things are over in Chicago. But yeah, the first time, it will be interesting.”

When a player spends his entire career in one place and enjoys the highest of the highs — including three Stanley Cup victories — there’s an attachment that accompanies the long affiliation with the franchise.

But the franchise that Toews helped resuscitate over the course of 15-plus seasons also told him they were moving on from him late in the 2023 season and that’s not easy for any athlete to hear — especially for one as decorated as Toews, who is likely to have a statue of him built outside the United Center after he retires.

But this early-season matchup isn’t about Toews’ departure or any lingering bitterness he may have felt at one point and time.

He’s spent so much time since signing with his hometown team talking about gratitude and he once again leaned into that when asked about his experience with the Blackhawks.

“Yeah, it’s crazy to think how fast the time goes by, when you think of it,” said Toews, who made the Blackhawks in the fall of 2007 after spending two seasons with the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. “Watching some of the games from my rookie season, it almost looks like HD didn’t exist back then. Holy smokes, was it really that long ago? Obviously, the league changes so much every handful of years, let alone the better part of two decades.

“I’ve had a lot of time to reflect. I really appreciate (the time there). You don’t really know what lies ahead when you get drafted, but in hindsight, it’s like, ‘Wow, how much more fortunate can you be?’ To be thrown into that organization and to be able to contribute the way I was given the opportunity to. To have the stars align the way they did for six or seven years there, where we had a crack at a championship most of the time, that was a lot of fun.”

Not only did the Blackhawks have a crack at winning during that extended period of time, they raised three championship banners between 2010 and 2015, with the third coming in 2013.

Helping the Original Six franchise get back to the glory days after some dark days was part of Toews’ legacy, though he is reluctant to take the credit he deserves for the part he played.

Seeing how far things needed to go was part of what made the journey so enjoyable.

Early in that process, Toews remembers being out with an injury and sitting in the stands with some friends from Winnipeg that made the trip to the Windy City for the home opener.

“I was sitting in the stands and no one knows who I am,” said Toews. “I remember (Brent) Seabrook and (Duncan) Keith telling stories about going to train stations all over the city with their jerseys on, handing out business cards with links where you could redeem free tickets. It was like people didn’t know the Hawks existed. There was really no pressure on us when we came in. When Rocky (Wirtz) took over, we had the outdoor game, the team was going on the up and up and the rest is history. It was fun to see the contrast of where it came to what it obviously could be.”

That anonymity would not last and the Blackhawks soon became the toast of the town.

Poor crowds were replaced by a remarkable string of sellouts and the United Center became the “Madhouse on Madison,” with Chelsea Dagger blasting through the speakers after every Blackhawks goal.

Toews became the third youngest captain in NHL history in 2008 at 20 years and 79 days old, trailing only Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

By the time he appeared in his final game with the Blackhawks in April of 2023, he had suited up in 1,067 contests in the regular season to go along with 137 more during the Stanley Cup playoffs, piling up points while making helping make those around him better.

During a recent interview with the Free Press, Seabrook shed some light on what made Toews so impactful during his time with the Blackhawks.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s in the offensive part of the game or the defensive part, he plays a 200-foot game. He’s taking the big draws, he’s blocking shots,” said Seabrook, who was Toews’ roommate during his first season in the NHL. “Having a guy like that in Chicago who wore the C for us and being one of the top guys in the NHL that was willing to do all of that little stuff that made our team so successful, he was always willing to do it, he was always first in the pile and he was always ready to go. That’s the kind of guy you want leading your team.”

Toews, now 37, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP during the first Stanley Cup victory and he won the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward in the NHL during the 2012-13 season.

“Chicago is an amazing sports city and when we were at the top, it was a lot of fun,” said Toews. “Obviously some great memories and friendships. It was like a brotherhood with a lot of guys that were there for a lot of those years. It was pretty special.”

Toews’ return to the NHL, though still in the early stages, has been special in its own way.

With a goal and five points in 10 games with the Jets, Toews has done a great job of shaking off the rust accumulated during his long road back to the NHL as he dealt with a number of health issues on the road to recovery.

Toews is settling in nicely and while you can expect some additional emotions to creep in when the Jets travel to the United Center on Jan. 19, that won’t be a factor on Thursday.

As much as Toews is looking forward to catching up with some of the trainers and equipment staff, there aren’t many former teammates still on the Blackhawks roster either, so it won’t be too awkward once the puck is dropped.

“There’s nothing really recognizable about the team. It’s such a young team,” said Toews, noting that the only players left from his final season are Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, Arvid Soderblom and Wyatt Kaiser. “It will be good to see the trainers. I’m good buddies with them and they become like family. It’s the same guys from the 15 or 16 years I was there. It will be fun. I’m excited. Obviously, you want to win that one.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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