Jonathan Toews
Jonathan Bryan Toews is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League. He previously played for the Chicago Blackhawks, serving as the captain from 2008 to 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 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 Winter Olympics 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's 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, 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 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 (2007–2023)
Early seasons (2007–2009)
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. 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 the Pittsburgh Penguins. Toews finished the 2008–09 season with 69 points in all 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 defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in five games.
Dynasty years (2010–2017)
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 six 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. On March 5, 2010, Toews recorded his 100th NHL assist on a goal scored by Jordan Hendry in a 6–3 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Toews finished the season with 68 points in 76 games. During the second round of the 2010 playoffs, Toews recorded his second career hat-trick, along with two assists on goals by Patrick Sharp and Brent Seabrook, leading the Blackhawks in a 7–4 playoff victory against the Vancouver Canucks on May 7. On June 9, Toews led Chicago to the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship since 1961, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in game 6 of the Final. 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 22 assists for 29 points in all 22 games 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.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.
On December 28, 2010, Toews suffered a shoulder injury in a 3–1 loss to the St. Louis Blues as a result from a hard check from Blues' forward Matt D'Agostini. He was initially expected to miss two weeks but returned to the lineup after only one week with only two games missed. On January 16, 2011, Toews scored his 100th NHL goal in a 6–3 win over the Nashville Predators on Predators goaltender Anders Lindbäck. During the 2010–11 season, Toews recorded a career-high 76 points in 80 games. The defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks narrowly qualified for the 2011 playoffs, ending the season as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference, beating out the Dallas Stars for the final playoff spot by just two points after both the Blackhawks and Stars lost their season finales against the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild, respectively. Down three games to none in the opening round against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks won three straight games to force a deciding game 7. In the contest on April 26, 2011, Toews scored a short-handed game-tying goal on Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo with 1:56 remaining in regulation to force overtime. This would be Toews's only goal of the series as Canucks forward Alex Burrows went on to score five minutes into the ensuing overtime period to eliminate the Blackhawks. Toews had four points in the seven-game series. Toews was named a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward for the first time in his career, which was ultimately awarded to Kesler.
Toews was to play in the 2012 All-Star Game, but an injury sustained during a 5–2 loss to the Nashville Predators on January 21, 2012, kept him from playing; he was replaced by Scott Hartnell. Toews finished the 2011–12 season with 57 points in an injury-shortened year as the Blackhawks as a team finished the season as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. He returned to play in the first game in the opening round 2012 playoffs against the third seeded Phoenix Coyotes on April 12. Toews scored the overtime winner against Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith in game 5 on April 21 to send the series back to Chicago for game 6, In game six on April 23, the Coyotes won the game 4–0 to eliminate the Blackhawks from the playoffs with a 4–2 series defeat.
In the lockout-shortened season of 2012–13, 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 the Final over the Boston Bruins and assisted on the game tying goal scored by Bryan Bickell in game six on June 24, 2013, Chicago's second title in four seasons. At the end of the year, he was also awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the League's top defensive forward beating out fellow finalists Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron and Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk and was named to the NHL second All-Star team.
Toews recorded 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 and throughout the season earned the moniker "Captain Serious" by his peers. The Blackhawks' 2014 playoff run lasted to overtime of game 7 of the Western Conference finals against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, and Toews put up 17 points in all 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 of the Boston Bruins and first runner-up Anže Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings.
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 finals on May 30, 2015, Toews scored the game's first two goals en route to a 5–3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks and 4–3 series victory. In the Final, 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 for a 4–2 series win. 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.
On November 23, 2016, Toews suffered a back injury in a 2–1 loss against the San Jose Sharks that forced him to miss nine games. He was voted into the 2017 National Hockey League All-Star Game.