WINNIPEG — Three-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Toews is returning to the NHL and signing with his hometown Winnipeg Jets.
The Jets announced on Friday that they’ve agreed to a one-year contract with Toews. The value of his deal, which can officially be signed when NHL free agency opens July 1, was not revealed.
“I’m grateful to be making my return to the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets,” Toews said in a statement. “It’s very special to come home and play in front of my family and friends in Manitoba.
“The Jets have been on the rise over the last few seasons, and I’m eager to join the group and help however I can.”
Toews missed the past two NHL seasons after stepping away from hockey, citing the effects of Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and long COVID.
The health complications also forced him to miss the entire 2020-21 campaign.
Toews revealed on social media in November that he travelled to India and underwent Ayurvedic detox Panchakarma, a traditional therapy that uses massage, herbs and diet to cleanse the body, after “almost five years of searching for a way to heal the inflammatory and immune system issues that took me out of hockey.”
The longtime Chicago Blackhawks captain helped lead the franchise to Stanley Cup championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2010. He also claimed Olympic gold with Canada in 2010 and 2014.
The Jets posted to social media a picture of a young Toews wearing a Winnipeg Jets jacket and a Manitoba Moose hat, and the caption “Meant to be.”
The franchise also shared a photo of the Jonathan Toews Sportsplex sign in Winnipeg, with a message board underneath reading, “HE’S HOME.”
“We are excited to add a proven winner like Jonathan Toews to the Winnipeg Jets,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said. “It will be a unique opportunity for Jonathan to play for his hometown team. His talent, drive, and experience will be a great complement to our club. We will withhold further comment until July 1.”
Toews, who the Blackhawks selected third overall in 2006 and named captain at just 20, has 372 goals and 511 assists in 1,067 career NHL regular-season games, all with Chicago. He also tallied 45 goals and 74 assists in 137 playoff games.
The 37-year-old centre won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward in 2013 and the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2015.
He joins a Jets team that captured the Presidents’ Trophy last season and won the most regular-season games in the NHL over the past two campaigns.
Winnipeg, however, hasn’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 2018. The Jets fell in six games in their second-round series against the Dallas Stars this past spring.
Toews will add depth down the middle alongside Mark Scheifele, captain Adam Lowry and Vladislav Namestnikov. Lowry is expected to miss the start of next season after undergoing hip surgery in May.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2025.
The Canadian Press
