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After 16 NHL seasons, three Stanley Cups and a couple of Olympic gold medals, Jonathan Toews has announced that he’s calling it a career.
Toews spent last season with the Winnipeg Jets — his hometown team — after sitting out for two full seasons.
At a press conference on Friday, the future Hall of Famer officially hung up his skates.
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“I’m way more nervous than I thought I would be,” Toews said after stepping up to the podium. “I just want to recognize, first of all — it’s a privilege to be standing up here to say goodbye to the game of hockey and the NHL. I think there’s a lot of great players out there that don’t get this opportunity.
“So, [I] just want to be cognizant of that. Thank you all for coming today.”
Jonathan Toews spent his final NHL season playing for his hometown Winnipeg Jets. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)
Well, Toews is hanging ’em up the way he played: with class.
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And what a career it was. I mean, the hardware — which also includes a Conn Smythe, a Selke and a Mark Messier Leadership Award — speaks for itself, but look at these numbers.
Of course, Toews is best remembered for his 15 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks. They drafted him in 2006, and he went on to lead them to three Stanley Cups in 2010 (when they ripped this Flyers fan’s heart out of his chest), 2013 and 2015.
But one of the most admirable things about Toews’ career is how he battled back after two years out of the league due to inflammatory and immune-system issues that also affected his last couple of years with the Blackhawks.
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Jonathan Toews spent 15 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks and led them to three Stanley Cups. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
What a career. Those early 2010s Blackhawks teams were nasty, and they were all led by Toews.
There’s no question that he’ll be getting a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame in a few years.