Will Jonathan Toews‘ health allow him to keep playing?
TSN: Chris Johnston doesn’t believe Jonathan Toews wants to retire, that he’d like to keep playing, but it’s likely up to his body on what happens.
“He’s just 34 years old and, ultimately, what might be the decider here is just where his health is at. He’s missed a recent season with some long COVID symptoms. He’s dealt with a lot of fatigue and issues. And over these next few weeks as he processes what happened at the end of this season, (he) starts to look ahead to his opportunities on July 1. I think where his health at first and foremost will dictate if he continues on but I certainly think there’s will on the player’s side to continue his career.”
Jonathan Toews won’t be back in Chicago next year as it’s time for the turning of the guard in Chicago
Ben Pope: Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson said that decision to not bring Toews and Patrick Kane back next season is that he is looking to “clear the deck” for organic growth. This would allow new team leaders to emerge and let the next wave of Blackhawks to enter as Kane and Toews did at the start of their careers.
- Ben Pope: (personal commentary and not Davidson) “He’s not saying there won’t be any veteran leaders in the room — guys like Murphy, Tinordi, Tyler Johnson are that — but those three guys don’t vacuum up all the leadership like Kane and Toews did (through no fault of their own; they’re just icons).”
Ben Pope: The Blackhawks are going to need to sign/trade for some players that have a decent salary as they’ll need to get to the salary floor next year.
GM Davidson said they won’t be looking to add players that hove long-term contracts as they are wanting to keep some flexibility.
Ben Pope: Blackhawks GM Davidson alluding to potential 2023 first-round pick Matvei Michkov.
“This is not something we’re going to fix overnight; it’s not something we’re going to fix in Nashville at the draft. It’s something that’s going to take time. This was a Year One. We had a great draft class last year. We’ll see how they develop, but early returns are positive. Hopefully we have the same feeling leaving Nashville for the 2023 class, and then there’s going to be more classes after that. Hopefully at some point, when the collective comes together, we’ve got ourselves a pretty special team.
We’re not taking anyone off the board, we’re not taking anyone out of consideration just because they might not be available to us Year Two or whatever. That would be a disservice to our endeavor for acquiring the best players. It’s something that’s under consideration. Lots of work to do, lots of things to learn between now and the draft in Nashville. We’ll see where it goes.”
