7 Offseason Landing Spots for Free Agent Center Jonathan Toews

It's been nearly two years since we saw Jonathan Toews play in an NHL game. It was April 2023 when he last suited up for the Chicago Blackhawks. Long COVID and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome made playing hockey nearly impossible because they wore him down for years. When Toews stepped away from the game to recover, the assumption was it would lead to him hanging it up.

As Toews told Mark Lazerus of The Athletic, he's not done with hockey and is ready to make a comeback. He turns 37 at the end of April and he wants to get back to playing hockey and being able to end his career on his terms and not because his health forced him out of action.

If Toews commits to returning to the NHL, who he ends up with is a fascinating question to ponder. He spent his entire career in Chicago and won three Stanley Cups as captain of the Blackhawks so that's an easy call, right? It could be, but we've got a few other ideas as well.

Where will we see Jonathan Toews in an NHL sweater next time? Let's kick around some ideas, shall we?

Chicago Blackhawks

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

If there was one way to make Jonathan Toews' story complete, seeing him return to Chicago after being gone for two years would be the most storybook finish.

Picture it if you will: Toews returns to Chicago as the veteran on a very young team headlined by Connor Bedard but supported by other young players like Frank Nazar, Kevin Korchinski and Artyom Levshunov with more on the way. Toews imparts the wisdom and leadership that made him one of the vital cogs of the Stanley Cup-winning teams in recent memory and helps lift these young Blackhawks up into becoming a playoff team once again.

That sounds like a great story, doesn't it? Who wouldn't want to see something like that play out, apart from Chicago's rivals? It's the kind of story that would bring warm fuzzies to fans in the Windy City and beyond.

You'd have to think that if Toews is coming back to the NHL he'll want to be part of a winning team with Cup aspirations, but a return to Chicago to help the new generation of star players grow into what Toews once was a part of feels like the kind of thing that would work out well for him and the team.

Winnipeg Jets

Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images

What do we love more than a homecoming? How about an actual return home? If Jonathan Toews were to return to the NHL with his hometown Winnipeg Jets, that would be one heck of a story.

Toews going home to play in Winnipeg is something any player dreams of doing. Maybe not specifically playing in Manitoba but playing in their hometown. If he joined the Jets with their stacked lineup and all-world goalie in Connor Hellebuyck, it would give him the kind of cushioning in the lineup to let him ease his way back into action after two years away.

The Jets have Mark Scheifele on the top line and Adam Lowry anchoring the middle part of their forward group, but for as good as they've been this year, adding a center of Toews's quality would give them even more depth and if he can come back and look at all like the guy we watched in Chicago, he would make for a massive addition.

Expectations for Toews certainly have to be tempered given the health issues he's returning from and the time away from the game he's missed, but his hockey brain is still elite and if the body and hands can keep up with it, his hometown team would want to be the ones at the front of the line to get him.

San Jose Sharks

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

If returning to Chicago to be part of their rebuild centered around a superstar No. 1 pick wasn't appealing to Jonathan Toews, maybe joining the San Jose Sharks with their No. 1 star and rising from the ashes of a rebuild might do the trick.

When it comes to San Jose, we've watched Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith work magic together right away and teamed up with William Eklund who has grown into a solid player himself. They've got Sam Dickinson and Quentin Musty coming on the horizon and then there's whoever they take in the first round of this year's draft as well.

Sure, the Sharks record this year isn't great, but we knew they were going to have a hard time this year and yet they've taken some encouraging steps that have us thinking their time being down in the dumps may not last too long.

Toews might see what they've got cooking in San Jose and believe that being in California and playing the mentor role on a team that's on the rise is more appealing than returning to Chicago and doing the same.

Edmonton Oilers

Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images

If there's something that would most likely appeal to Jonathan Toews coming back to the NHL it would be joining a team that could win the Stanley Cup right away. It's not that Toews needs to win another one, but it sure would be a lot of fun to be part of a deep team that takes care of business that well. In that respect, the Edmonton Oilers would make a lot of sense for him.

Toews joining the Oilers to slot in behind Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would give him the ability to ease back into action but also immediately be part of a group that's ready to win right now.

There's also the fact that Toews's former Chicago GM, Stan Bowman, is in charge in Edmonton. If you can ignore everything that went on in Chicago while Bowman ran the show, and how Toews was the captain of the team while things got ugly away from the ice and behind the scenes, then that kind of reunion would make a whole lot of sense. That's hard to ignore, however, and refreshing everyone's memories about all of that

In a strictly on-ice hockey way, however, Toews with the Oilers would make a lot of sense, especially if they fall short of winning the Stanley Cup again this year. They'll have to reassess what they're lacking and what they'll need to to win and more solid forward depth should be at the top of that list.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images

If ever there was a team that seemed destined to get involved in a possible pursuit for Jonathan Toews and his comeback, it's the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Leafs are always looking for veterans with a winning pedigree and Toews more than qualifies. Toronto will also have one of the most fascinating offseasons to watch this summer as well with Mitch Marner and John Tavares set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. This isn't to say that pursuing and adding Toews would help soften the blow of losing one or both of those players, rather it would help add the kind of veteran depth Toronto would need regardless of that.

This sounds a little conflicting since they added Scott Laughton at the deadline from Philadelphia and that's the kind of role he's played both with the Flyers and now on the third line with the Leafs. That said, even at 37 years old, if Toews can reclaim his game he'd be a marked upgrade and create matchup issues for opponents with the way he can defend at center and how he thinks the game is all over the ice.

Toronto could always stand to add players who have won it all and to give their superstars the insight needed to persist in the postseason and battle through the hard moments that always arise in the playoffs. Toews can provide that for them.

New York Rangers

Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images

Throughout their history, the New York Rangers have always been guilty of trying to land the biggest names to put in lights on Broadway and if Jonathan Toews wants to return to the NHL, the Blueshirts will certainly put in a call.

The Rangers have crafted their lineup into one that's irascible (Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller, Will Cuylle) yet teeming over with skill (Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox) and yet hasn't found a way to get over the hump into becoming regular winners, never mind being true Stanley Cup contenders. This is where a superstar like Toews would come into play.

Adding Toews up the middle of the Rangers lineup would give them the kind of depth they've been desperate to have and bringing in a guy with the kind of Stanley Cup-winning experience he has is the kind of thing GMs and coaches go wild for. A true two-way playmaker like Toews is the kind of player who, in his best years, would be the ideal fit.

If the Rangers feel like Toews at 37 years old, a couple of seasons removed from the league and reenergized can recapture that ability, even for a year, he's worth pursuing.

New Jersey Devils

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

If seeing Jonathan Toews in black and red is a look you've grown accustomed to, may we suggest that he change that up just a wee bit and join the New Jersey Devils?

Toews and the Devils may not initially seem like a proper pairing, but when you think about how star center Jack Hughes has been snakebitten by injuries throughout his career and Nico Hischier has taken his share of lumps as well, improving the depth with a veteran makes a lot more sense.

We understand the irony of the Devils improving their center depth by adding Toews who's missed the past couple of seasons with various health ailments, but in a vacuum, it's the kind of move that checks some boxes. He plays a smart game at both ends of the ice, he can contribute offensively, and he was a solid defensive forward as well.

Toews can't make up for the offense lost by Hughes's absence, but with a healthy Hughes and Hischier up the middle, slotting Toews in as the No. 3 center sure makes them look a lot more difficult to match up against on paper.