Winnipeg Jets, $1.7B franchise frontrunners to land 3x Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Toews amid NHL return, per insider

Jonathan Toews' return to the NHL appears to be nearing.

The longtime Chicago Blackhawks captain has not appeared in game action since the end of the 2022-23 season.

Toews battled with symptoms of long COVID that kept him out for the entire 2020-21 campaign before returning for the next two years. He has since taken the last two full seasons off to rest and recover from the various ailments he's been dealing with.

The three-time Stanley Cup Champion is now feeling 100% and has reiterated his full commitment to returning to the NHL in 2025-26. Expectations have been that Jonathan Toews will sign with a team in the coming weeks as we inch towards free agency and the chaos of the offseason.

According to TSN hockey insider Chris Johnston, the Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche, worth $1.7 billion per Forbes, are the most likely landing spots for Toews. Drew Livingstone shared the clip with Johnston's update on X (formerly Twitter).

"I would think at some point here in the next few days, he's going to determine his landing spot. The Winnipeg Jets are still among the teams that have a shot at him; it would be quite a story, obviously, being a Winnipeg guy... You know, Winnipeg and Colorado, I think, are the most likely potential landing spots for him," Johnston said.

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Toews was last on an eight-year, $84,000,000 contract extension signed with the Blackhawks in 2014. He recorded 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists) in 53 games during the final season of that deal in 2022-23.

Jonathan Toews' decision on his new NHL team could come this week

According to one NHL analyst, hockey fans might learn where Jonathan Toews is taking his talents by the end of the week.

Nick Alberga of Leafs Morning Take provided the latest he's hearing about the 37-year-old's decision. He posted the report on X.

"It sounds like Jonathan Toews is close to making a decision. Hearing something could go down this week. Still a few teams in the mix," Alberga wrote.

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He went on to add that Winnipeg, Colorado, and one other unknown team are the three believed to be in the mix, as Chris Johnston also mentioned.

It will be awesome for hockey to see Jonathan Toews back in the NHL in 2025-26 after such a lengthy road to recovery in recent years.

About the author

Jackson Weber is an NHL journalist at Sportskeeda with a Bcomm degree in Business and Sport Management from the University of Guelph.

Jackson has grown up as a lifelong Pittsburgh Penguins fan. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are his all-time favorite players. Watching the Penguins win the Stanley Cup three times is an experience that Jackson will never forget. Years later, you realize how rare it is to see your favorite team win even once, so three championships were just incredible.

When not watching, playing, or writing about sports, Jackson loves to cook and is passionate about health and nutrition.

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Edited by Jackson Weber