Jonathan Toews '100% Committed' to NHL Comeback in 2025-26, Hasn't Played Since 2023

Jonathan Toews hasn't played in the NHL since April 2023, as Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and long COVID made the hockey grind too difficult to bear.

But he never officially retired, and now he's looking to make an NHL comeback.

According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN: "Toews reached out to his agent Pat Brisson yesterday to inform him he's 100 percent committed to coming back to the NHL next season. Just spoke with Brisson, who says he will start taking calls from NHL teams on Toews now leading up to July 1."

Toews himself acknowledged in March that he was going to attempt a comeback.

"I'm not satisfied the way things ended in Chicago," he told Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. "It's not about proving anything. It's just that there's something left in the tank and I want to explore that. I want to go have fun, have a blast, play with passion. But at the same time, I still have some high-level hockey left. I want to be able to step away from the game having said that I've given it my all. And I still think there’s something left to give."

There's no doubt that Toews will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer upon his retirement. He won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks, won both the Conn Smythe and Selke Trophies and is a six-time All-Star. He also won a pair of gold medals with Team Canada at the Olympics.

Nobody would have blamed him for retiring after his medical issues, and it's unclear if doctors have even advised him to continue playing. But he's going to give hockey one last shot regardless.

"I don't think there's any expert out there that has a perfect bead on what's going on (with me), and I think in my situation, just going off of my own feeling and my own instinct, the time away was definitely good for me," he said in March. "If this wasn't in the cards and it didn't feel right, I wouldn't be pushing myself to do anything in that sense. I'm really proud of the time I took away from hockey. Everyone just assumed I was retired, but I think in my mind, I wasn't too sure for a long time. I just needed to not think about it, to just give myself time and space. ... Now I'm really missing hockey, and I think that's the biggest sign. I really miss the game and feel I have a whole different perspective and a new lease on things."

There are no guarantees he'll be the player who was mostly fantastic for the Blackhawks over the course of 15 NHL seasons, or at least before his medical issues became overbearing. But he's going to attempt the comeback nonetheless.