(NBC CHICAGO) - Chicago Blackhawks legend Jonathan Toews, who won three Stanley Cup titles with the team, has announced his retirement from the NHL.
Toews, who played the 2025-26 season with the Winnipeg Jets, made the announcement in his hometown on Friday, walking away from the game of hockey after 16 seasons in the league.
Drafted with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, Toews was paired up with Patrick Kane as the Blackhawks returned from hockey purgatory and became one of the league’s most dominant teams for nearly a decade, capturing three Stanley Cup championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
"I look back on my time in Chicago and it all kinda went by in the blink of an eye, but I realize how special that time was and how lucky I was when I got drafted .... definitely incredible and a dream come true," Toews said in his announcement, naming several of the iconic Blackhawks teammates who joined him on the ice during those Stanley Cup-winning games.
Toews was named the youngest captain in NHL history when he got the “C” at the age of 20, and he was instrumental in the team’s first title win in nearly 50 years when Chicago beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. Toews earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP, and it propelled his career to another level.
"I look back on those times ... it's kind of crazy. It doesn't make sense for a 20-some-year-old to be named captain at that age. But, you know, I had a tremendous group of players around me," he said.
Toews was named the Selke Trophy winner in 2013 as the league’s top defensive forward, and he again helped the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup championship over the Boston Bruins.
He won a third Cup in 2015, scoring a career-high 10 playoff goals as the Blackhawks captured the championship over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Toews began experiencing health issues late in his Blackhawks career, being diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and long-COVID amid the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. He made some appearances for the Blackhawks in the two years that followed, but stepped away from the game of hockey in 2023.
He opted to make a return to the sport in the 2025-26 season, signing a contract with the Winnipeg Jets. He had 11 goals and 18 assists in 82 games with Winnipeg in what would be his final NHL season.
"Obviously, the last few years have been extremely difficult. So I guess in a way, I kind of feel prepared for this moment, more nervous than I thought I would be," he said. "But, I think, you know, the transition is challenging for any player that's that's moving on from the game. And, you know, I think when you're heading into the unknown a little bit and your whole life is kind of in structured and predictable from one year to the next is not easy. But, you know, sometimes I catch myself wishing that things have gone differently and I could have finished my career on a different note these last five years or so. But truth be I'm grateful for the struggle and the learning experiences I've been through. Ironically, I feel like I've learned so much more about myself and about life."
His career will go down in history as one of the greatest the Blackhawks have ever seen. Toews appeared in a total of 1,067 regular season games for Chicago, ranking sixth in team history. His 372 goals are sixth all-time in team history, as were his 883 career points in Chicago. His 511 assists rank eighth in team history.
In addition to his Conn Smythe and Selke wins, Toews was also named one of the 100 Greatest Players in NHL history when the league released its list during its centennial season in 2017.
Now, all that remains to be seen is when he will have his No. 19 jersey raised to the rafters of the United Center, and when he’ll be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, with both honors all but certain after his incredible career.
