Jonathan Toews: Where Does He Rank Among the Blackhawks' Top Captains?

Jonathan Toews is the greatest captain in Chicago Blackhawks history.

That might be exactly what you hear years from now when Toews hangs up his skates.

Hell we might be saying this by the time his current contract is up in four years.

During his rookie year he was named an alternate captain. Then during the summer he was named captain and it is hard to imagine him ever letting the title go.

Toews is in his fourth season as the captain for the Chicago Blackhawks. During that time he has led his team to the playoffs every season and won the Conn Smyth trophy helping the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years.

It has been a very impressive four-year run which leaves me wondering what could happen over the next four.

Once Toews plays out his current contract, assuming he remains the captain, he will be the longest tenured captain in Blackhawks history. Currently, that honor is held by Pierre Pilote who was captain of the Hawks from 1961 to 1968 for a total of seven years. 

The Blackhawks have had many great captains over the years but many of them didn't hold onto the spot for long. Stan Mikita was only a captain for one season and the same for Dennis Savard. Really until Pilote came around it was almost just a yearly job. After Pilote it took until Dirk Graham in 1989 for anyone to hold onto the job for more then a few years.

After Graham held it from 1989-1995, Chris Chelios held it from '95-'99. It then changed almost yearly until Toews arrived.

So even though the Hawks have had some great captains, hell four of them have numbers hanging from the rafters, what Toews is doing is unprecedented for a team with so much history.

What Captain Serious, Jonathan Toews, is doing to the history of the Chicago Blackhawks is really something special so let's enjoy it while we can, no matter how long it could potentially last.