An NHL great is saying goodbye to his playing days.
Winnipeg’s Jonathan Toews, who played for his hometown team last season, announced his retirement Friday after 16 seasons.
“It’s a privilege to be standing up here to say goodbye to the game of hockey and the NHL. There’s a lot of great players out there that don’t get this opportunity,” Toews, 38, said at a news conference in Winnipeg, inside the sports complex named after him in the neighbourhood where he grew up.
The announcement comes almost one year to the day after the Jets revealed Toews was joining the team following a two-year hiatus from the NHL to deal with symptoms of long COVID and chronic inflammatory response syndrome.
That announcement was June 20, 2025, but the formal signing didn’t happen until July 1, when Toews committed to a one-year contract to be a Jet for the 2025-26 season.
On Friday, Toews thanked the Blackhawks organization, saying how special it was to be with them and that “it all kind of went by in the blink of an eye.”
And he thanked the Jets and team co-owner Mark Chipman for bringing the NHL back to the city.
“I knew what it meant when I was a kid and growing up and being a Winnipegger, but to come back and witness it first-hand by being a Winnipeg Jet, it’s amazing,” he said.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to live out my dream of pulling on that Jets sweater and playing in front of my hometown community.”
Chipman said he wouldn’t be the least bit offended if Toews decides “to pull a Tom Brady,” referring to the NFL quarterback who retired then reversed his decision 40 days later for one last season.
“Jonathan, I know I can say on behalf of all of the hockey fans of this community, how immensely proud you have made us from the moment you started your NHL career.”
Toews was born in Winnipeg and played youth hockey in the city. He was drafted third overall by Chicago in 2006 and made his debut in 2007, scoring his first NHL goal on his first NHL shot on Oct. 10.
In 2008, at just 20 years and 79 days old, Toews was named captain of the Blackhawks — the youngest captain in franchise history and the third-youngest in NHL history at the time.
He spent 15 years with Chicago, serving as captain for 14, winning three Stanley Cups (2010, 2013 and 2015) and being awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2010 as the most valuable player in the Cup playoffs.
“I’m so thankful and grateful for the career I had,” Toews said in a news release posted on the Jets website.
“But at this point, it’s one thing to be healthy and to have the hunger — there’s no doubt in my mind that I have the skill set to continue to play at this level and be an offensive player the way I know I can — but it’s just come to the point where it’s taken such a toll, I’m just kind of ready to let the stress level go down.”
The six-time all-star was also included on the list of the 100 Greatest NHL Players, which the league released in 2017 during its centennial celebration.
Toews won the 2013 Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward and was a finalist three other times, while also being honoured with the league’s Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2015.
A two-time Olympic gold medallist for Canada in hockey (2010 and 2014), Toews also won the gold medal at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, back-to-back gold medals at the 2006 and 2007 World Junior Championships and gold and silver medals at the 2007 and 2008 World Championships, respectively.
He announced in February 2023 that he was stepping away from the game due to his health issues.
He returned to Chicago’s lineup on April 1 and played seven games before the season ended April 13. On the morning of that season finale, the team announced it would not re-sign him after his contract expired at the end of that season.
In August 2023, Toews announced his intention to sit out the 2023-24 season to focus on his health but said he was not retiring from the NHL.
In March 2025, he told The Athletic that he planned to make his return for the 2025-26 season.
On Friday, he said the Jets took “a huge risk” giving him the chance to play again, and while he felt he struggled and didn’t contribute as much as he wanted, he was embraced from the start.
“I don’t think I had as many nicknames my entire career as I did in that locker-room this year. You guys have created a special culture,” he said.
Toews was greeted with loud and long cheers by fans at the Jets’ season-opening game on Oct. 9 and played the entire 82-game season, scoring 11 goals and adding 18 assists.
He didn’t get the chance to play in front of the raucous Winnipeg whiteout, however. The Jets missed the playoffs, after finishing the previous season atop the entire league.
“I wish I could have done more, wish we would have had a little more team success,” Toews said, noting the speed of the game went up while he was away, and his didn’t necessarily follow.
He often felt a step behind and was overthinking things, not trusting his instincts.
He thanked his teammates, family, friends and the training staff in Chicago and Winnipeg, saying they do everything and put up with “the prima donnas” who are NHLers. He also thanked Jets fans.
“There’s something special about being from this city. I’m so proud to be from Winnipeg,” he said.
“I’ve been so lucky to play in two incredible hockey markets with the best hockey fans in the world.”
There’s a number of things Toews said he’ll miss but scoring a goal in front of fans and sharing that feeling with them, “there’s nothing more special than that.”
He wraps up his career with 912 points (383 goals, 529 assist) and 645 penalties in minutes in 1,149 games.
“Sometimes I catch myself wishing that things had gone differently and I could have finished my career on a different note these last five years or so, but truth be told, I’m grateful for the struggle and the learning experiences I’ve been through,” Toews said.
“Ironically, I feel like I’ve learned so much more about myself and about life through the low points than I ever did when my career was at its height.”
He was the Jets’ nominee this season for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog ultimately won the award for his comeback from severe knee issues that forced him to miss three full regular seasons.
As for his future, Toews said he’s not looking to jump into a coaching or scouting job right away, though he expects to keep one foot in the game, and one out of it.
The NHL season is a grind with only about two weeks in summer to relax before preparing for the next season, he said.
“You don’t really have a whole lot of balance,” he said. “I missed a lot of things. So I’m looking forward to just taking life slow … and being a little more present wherever I am.”
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