Putting on Winnipeg Jets jersey like 'getting drafted again,' says hometown hero Jonathan Toews

Steve Lambert · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jul 04, 2025 6:12 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Jonathan Toews is officially back.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion, who past played an NHL crippled much than 2 years ago, was introduced Friday arsenic the newest subordinate of his hometown Winnipeg Jets, donning a jersey with his signature No. 19 astatine a squad property conference.

The Jets announced their volition to get the 37-year-old centre past month, but it lone became authoritative this week with Toews signing a one-year woody worthy $2 cardinal US, positive show bonuses tied to games played and playoff success.

The longtime Chicago skipper past played successful April of 2023, and connected Friday, helium told reporters helium was conscionable grateful for the accidental to instrumentality to the ice, fto unsocial with his hometown nine successful beforehand of friends and family.

"It's an honour and 1 that has truly lit that occurrence again, that excitement for the game," Toews said.

"You person these moments passim your vocation where, I don't privation to accidental you get jaded, but you get utilized to it, and you benignant of settee in. This is different infinitesimal that benignant of brings maine backmost to that caller feeling similar you're getting drafted again."

Toews walked distant from the crippled pursuing the 2022-23 play arsenic helium was dealing with symptoms of agelong COVID and chronic immune effect syndrome.

Those wellness issues kept Toews retired of the lineup for the full 2020-21 season, and helium was successful and retired of the lineup successful his last twelvemonth with Chicago, astatine 1 constituent missing 2 months of action.

Toews revealed connected societal media successful November that helium travelled to India and underwent the Ayurvedic detox Panchakarma, a accepted therapy that uses massage, herbs and fare to cleanse the body, aft "almost 5 years of searching for a mode to heal the inflammatory and immune strategy issues that took maine retired of hockey."

He said Friday that helium was skeptical astir the therapy astatine first, but had reached a constituent mentally wherever he'd effort anything.

"I ended up going retired there, and I was truly blessed that I did," helium explained. "As soon arsenic I started pursuing that fare and immoderate of the antithetic herbs and tinctures and conscionable supplements that complement the diet, things started changing truly fast."

"I knew close distant that determination was thing to it."

He said Friday that aft leaving Chicago, helium accepted helium mightiness ne'er play again and credited that mindset with helping him get healthy.

"I deliberation that was a challenging happening to do, but astatine the aforesaid clip a precise steadfast happening to conscionable aftermath up each time and not deliberation 'this is wherever we're going,"' Toews said. "As the twelvemonth went on I got stronger each period and I was moving out, taking attraction of myself, but besides conscionable enjoying life."

He said helium felt a night-and-day quality erstwhile helium returned to skating earlier this twelvemonth compared to his last play successful Chicago, which helium admitted was a conflict to get through.

"That successful itself was conscionable a immense affirmative and conscionable has truly reinforced this affirmative rhythm successful a way, too," said Toews.

"I'm truly blessed astir wherever I americium at. There's a caller vigor and caller excitement."

Toews has played 1,067 regular-season NHL games, each with Chicago, signaling 372 goals and 511 assists.

In 137 vocation playoff games, Toews recorded 45 goals and 74 assists. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy arsenic playoff MVP successful 2010, erstwhile helium led Chicago to its archetypal title successful much than 40 years.

Toews besides helped Canada assertion Olympic golden successful 2010 and 2014.

Signing volition enactment Jets 'over the top': premier

Born successful Winnipeg, Toews grew up successful the city's St. Vital neighbourhood, wherever there's present a assemblage sportsplex named successful his honour.

There's besides a water named aft Toews successful northwest Manitoba.

Premier Wab Kinew, an outspoken Jets fan, said helium thinks Toews coming location to Winnipeg is conscionable what the squad needs.

"We person the hometown champ signed with the hometown squad to propulsion them implicit the top," Kinew told reporters aft the property conference.

"It'll beryllium truly bully for the documentary they marque astir the Winnipeg Jets winning the Stanley Cup."

Jets wide manager Kevin Cheveldayoff called Toews's signing an breathtaking time for Winnipeg and for Manitoba and said it's thing he's been reasoning astir making hap for much than a decade.

Cheveldayoff, an adjunct GM successful Chicago erstwhile Toews and the squad won the 2010 Stanley Cup, said that erstwhile helium joined the Jets the pursuing year, helium and Mark Chipman, the president of Jets proprietor True North, mused astir the anticipation of 1 time seeing Toews successful a Winnipeg jersey.

"At that constituent successful clip it was simply a imagination oregon a concept," Cheveldayoff said.

"Last week, erstwhile we finalized everything, I sent Mark a text, and it said 'Toews is simply a Jet.' It was an affectional feeling," helium said.

"One of the astir decorated hockey players successful Manitoba past is coming home."

Toews is joining a Jets squad that's coming disconnected a Presidents' Trophy-winning play arsenic the NHL's apical regular-season club. But earlier this week, Winnipeg mislaid a cardinal violative portion erstwhile winger Nikolaj Ehlers signed a six-year woody with the Carolina Hurricanes.