Insider Reports Jonathan Toews is Likely Retiring From the NHL

As per TSN’s Darren Dreger, “Nothing official, but at this point it seems likely Jonathan Toews is retiring.” The former Chicago Blackhawk and current Winnipeg Jets veteran forward might be hanging up his skates, this time on his own terms.

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Toews rejoined the NHL this past season after missing back-to-back years while dealing with long COVID and chronic immune response syndrome. He joined the Winnipeg Jets and came home to try to wrap up his career on his own terms. He played all 82 games and triggered performance bonuses that pushed his base salary from a $2M base to much higher. Those included: $550K at 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 games played.

At his exit interview in April, he said there was no retirement decision yet, that he would think things through, and hoped to have a decision in the coming weeks. At that time, if he continued playing, he would want to stay in Winnipeg.

That said, the tea leaves point toward retirement. One analyst wrote that “maybe an official announcement will never come” — that Toews seems to be enjoying life away from the spotlight, and that if a retirement filing does happen, it would likely be a short press release rather than a major ceremony.

If this is the end, Toews had a great career, and it was much better that he was able to end things on his own terms instead of health issues being the reason he couldn’t continue playing. His résumé speaks for itself: 912 points in 1,149 games, three Stanley Cups, two Olympic golds, the Conn Smythe, the Selke, and a spot on the NHL’s Top 100 list.

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