Maple Leafs’ Max Domi reacts to Jonathan Toews’ NHL return with hometown Jets

On Friday, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi showed his support for former Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews who is making his NHL comeback. Toews signed a one-year contract with the Winnipeg Jets, his hometown team, this week.

Following the deal, Domi posted a story featuring a photo of Toews celebrating with Blackhawks teammates on his Instagram stories. In the caption he wrote:

“19 is back!”

“So proud of this guy! What an absolute BEAST to battle through! Congratulations brother! ❤️ @jonathantoews,” Domi added.

via Instagram/@max

Max Domi and Jonathan Toews were teammates on the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2022-23 season. Toews has been out of the NHL since the end of that season, missing two of the last three years due to long COVID and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. He also sat out the entire 2020-21 season due to the same health issues. During his recovery, Toews underwent a Panchakarma detox treatment in India.

His new deal with the Jets will become official on July 1. The three-time Stanley Cup champion last played for the Blackhawks where he spent his entire 15-season NHL career before stepping away from the game for the health reasons.

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Max Domi once opened up on struggles of dealing with chronic health condition

Max Domi was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 12 and later found out he also has celiac disease, which means he could not eat gluten.

Back in 2019, during an interview with TSN, Domi shared that the condition requires constant attention and can feel overwhelming at times. He said:

“There’s so much pressure on yourself, so much going on that you have to be aware of and the responsibility of your health at a young age is something that really wears on people and I think nowadays with social media and all that stuff that it’s also directly leading to mental health, I think when you have a disease like this one, you literally can’t take a day off. It’s wearing on you.”

During his first NHL training camp, Domi mentioned that he faced some difficulties managing his blood sugar levels but learned to better control it with support from the team’s trainer. He pointed out that having a support system is important to handle the condition.

“If you don’t have a team around you and all the tools in your toolbox to kind of handle that stuff, it’s tough. I’ll be the first one to admit that it’s not fun and you got to find ways to deal with that,” Domi said.

To share his experience, Max Domi even wrote a book titled “No Days Off”. Part of the proceeds from the sales of the book goes to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.