Browsing: Toews

Not only did the future Hall-of-Famer score the goal that gave Winnipeg a lead that it never relinquished in a 5-3 victory over the desperate Calgary Flames on Friday, but Toews won almost all of his faceoffs in a game where possession of the puck is so important.

That helped the Jets rebound from a 3-0 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

“Itâ€s huge,†said Toews. “Even in the first period, we were wanting to get one early to just get over the hump a little bit, especially after being shut out last night.

“Those things can build sometimes if you start forcing it and grip it a little tight. But I think we just sat on the bench and in the locker-room to keep pushing it and it was going to come. It shows a lot of maturity and it doesnâ€t matter who youâ€re playing or where they are in the standings.

“The league is so good now that you canâ€t take anyone for granted, and we knew that they were going to play some desperate hockey tonight. We had to work for those two points, and sometimes itâ€s not perfect but I think we are building our team game. A lot of new guys are finding their way with this team.”

The Flames are now winless in their last eight games.

Toews scored at 6:24 of the second to give Winnipeg a 2-1 edge when he deflected a Josh Morrissey pass past Calgary netminder Dustin Wolf. The Flames challenged for goalie interference but lost.

“I didnâ€t feel too good about it once there were challenges,†Toews said. “I havenâ€t had too many of those go my way in the past. I was just trying to prepare myself for the worst and shake it off if the call goes against us, whatever, keep playing. But it was nice to get that one. I didnâ€t feel like I interfered, but I havenâ€t seen the replay. But it was good to have that one count.â€

Toews got a loud ovation from the hometown crowd of 13,917 at Canada Life Centre after scoring that goal and another one when he was named the gameâ€s second star.

“Itâ€s a lot of fun to play in this building,†Toews said. “Iâ€ve always loved coming here in the past and it was always great energy. There are no better hockey fans in the world.

“Itâ€s nice to be on the right side now and to score a goal and hear the crowd. It definitely gives you some jump out there.â€

The Jets needed that jump.

“I think the first half, we worked pretty hard for our breaks,†Toews said. “But it was nice to see us convert a few times on the power play. Midway through the game, we were really going after them and all four lines were rolling, contributing. To see it going the way it was going with all the penalties, we knew we had to kill some and deal with a push from the other team.

“But then, to get the goal in the third, good for our guys to get those kills and for Coms (goalie Eric Comrie) to stand tall in net as well.â€

Toews is among the top three in the NHL in faceoff winning percentage and the other Jets centres are improving.

“Yeah, we’ve talked about it a lot and it’s kind of grown confidence in our other guys,†said Jets coach Scott Arniel. “Bear’s (Morgan Barron) been doing great, Scheif’s (Mark Scheifele) been doing great, like even Vladdy (Gabriel Vilardi). They’ve all improved their faceoffs. Whether he’s talking to those guys, but … we feel a lot more comfortable now.

“I mean, you set up plays all the time. You have a D-zone draw, you usually have something you’re trying to do. … If you don’t win draws, you never get to really see them. So, there’s always something called. That’s usually why they’re all huddled up calling a play.â€

Toews won 13 of 15 faceoffs.

Kyle Connor, Alex Iafallo, Vlad Namestnikov, into an empty net, and Vilardi also scored for Winnipeg. Morrissey assisted on three of the goals.

“He was real good again tonight,†Arniel said. “He played an awful lot of minutes in back-to-back games, but he loves that.â€

Blake Coleman, Mikael Backlund and Nazem Kadri scored for Calgary.

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CALGARY — Jonathan Toews’ first NHL goal in more than 2 1/2 years was a pivotal one on Monday night.

Toews’ power play marker at 2:41 of the third period came off a deflection of a Neal Pionk point shot to tie the game 1-1. Mark Scheifele notched the game-winner at 15:06 as the Jets rallied for a 2-1 decision over the struggling Calgary Flames.

“The No. 1 thing was the chemistry and the energy in the locker-room that this team has, that was a big selling point, and playing for a team like this that can contend and have a chance to win a Stanley Cup,†said Toews, playing his 16th season in the NHL.

After missing the past two seasons due to health issues, the longtime Chicago Blackhawks star signed a one-year deal in the summer.

“On top of all that, to do it in my hometown in Winnipeg, that’s a big part of it too,†said Toews. “So when I really came down to it, I couldn’t really see myself wearing any other sweater.â€

So far, so good with his new team. After Winnipeg dropped its season opener, 5-4 to the Dallas Stars, the Jets have reeled off five consecutive victories with Toews looking more and more comfortable every night.

“These last few games, I feel like I’m really starting to settle in, and just think less,†said Toews. “Now that some of the systems, and the play calling, and the draws, and what we do off faceoffs, all those little details of our team game have finally become second nature, I can go out there and maybe not overthink but start to relax with the puck and feel a little bit more comfortable and not as afraid to make mistakes.

“And then from there, the offence comes.â€

Toews’ last goal was on April 13, 2023.

“His game has been getting better every game,†said Jets’ coach Scott Arniel. “It’s probably a big weight off his shoulders, but at the end of the day, we’re not looking at these early games, we’re just trying to get him up and running and playing and being comfortable with how we play, and him feeling good about himself.â€

In addition to logging more than 18 minutes in ice time, the 37-year-old was a deadly 15-6 at the faceoff circle against the Flames, bumping his season win percentage to a stellar 63.5 per cent.

“That’s a huge asset for us. We weren’t the best faceoff team over the years and he’s helped us in that area, and it’s helped everybody pick up their game,†said Arniel.

But the intangibles the three-time Stanley Cup champion brings extend far beyond that.

“That leadership, the hockey sense that he has. He’s got a great mind for the game. You can hear him when he talks to his linemates, talks to his teammates. He has drive,†said Arniel. “All that stuff we’ve seen in the past, but now he’s real good for our group in the sense that he passes on that knowledge.â€

At this stage in his career, slotted in as the club’s No. 2 centre, Toews is no longer relied upon to lead the offence. The team has Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor to lead the way on that front, both of whom are off to a superb start.

Scheifele (7-3-10) and Connor (3-6-9) have both opened the season with six-game point streaks. Scheifele has goals in five straight games to pace the club with seven.

“The game nowadays, there’s no space, it’s so fast, but they just have that connection. And a guy like Gabe (Vilardi) goes out there too and just finds that empty space. He’s such a good catalyst for those two. So it’s fun to watch that line,†said Toews.

Scheifele welcomes Toews’ veteran presence.

“He’s a guy that wants to get back in the rhythm of things. He wants to excel each and every game and I think that’s the coolest thing,†said Scheifele. “A guy with as much experience as he has is still wanting to grow his game each and every night. He fits right into this group and we’re lucky to have him.â€

Toews sees great things ahead for his new club.

“Everything I had heard was that they’ve got an experienced group, and you saw what they did in the playoffs last year, and experience like that only continues to build, and especially their success in the regular season,†said Toews.

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Oct 13, 2025, 03:29 PM ET

ELMONT, N.Y. — Jonathan Toews reached another milestone in his NHL comeback Monday, recording his first point in nearly 2½ years.

“I guess when you put it that way it’s nice to get the monkey off your back,” Toews said after he and the Winnipeg Jets beat the New York Islanders 5-2.

Toews helped set up Nino Niederreiter’s power-play goal in the Jets’ third game of the season and picked up a secondary assist. Toews last got on the scoresheet April 13, 2023, in his final game with the Chicago Blackhawks before stepping away from hockey because of health issues.

“Felt like I had a few chances to score, too,” Toews said. “Hopefully find a way to get that first goal here, too. I think ultimately you just concentrate on making plays, getting around the net, being more confident when the puck comes to you in those dangerous areas. It’s a numbers game. Just got to keep creating and find ways to find the back of the net.”

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Toews, 37, chose his hometown team to make his return after sitting out the past two seasons because of the effects of chronic immune response syndrome and long COVID-19. He said he’s feeling good physically while getting up to speed.

“Still finding my way a little bit,” Toews said. “It takes time to become second nature. And then you have to find your game. You’ve got to go out there and relax a little bit. The first couple games I felt like I was getting tired late in shifts, because you’re just overskating everything and overworking yourself. You’d rather be safe than sorry, and sometimes less is more.”

Toews captained the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup three times, in 2010, ’13 and ’15. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP during the franchise’s first championship run since 1961 and in 2016 was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league’s 100-year history.

“He’s worked hard to come back and feel good, and I think that’s the most important thing is he’s feeling good,” longtime Blackhawks teammate and current Detroit Red Wings winger Patrick Kane said last month. “I’m really happy that he’s back.”

Toews also helped Canada win two Olympic gold medals. Those tournaments and world championships are the only times he and Kane have faced off against each other since breaking in together with the Blackhawks in ’07.

Assuming they’re healthy, that is set to change on Dec. 31 when Winnipeg visits Detroit. Kane already asked coach Todd McLellan to put him out for the opening faceoff against the former teammate with whom he’ll forever be linked.

Asked before camp opened if he thought Toews — nicknamed “Captain Serious” for his low-key demeanor — has mellowed over the years, Kane shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” Kane said. “I’m sure he’s pissed off about something. Someone said something about him, or he’s always got to prove someone wrong. That’s a great thing about Johnny. He’s always out to prove something.”

Toews is proving he still has it, averaging over 17 minutes of ice time as the Jets’ second-line center. Coach Scott Arniel used Toews on the penalty kill against the Islanders after forward Cole Koepke was injured blocking a shot, but the staff is trying not to overplay him.

“He’s getting better every day,” Arniel said. “That’s what we talked about, him and I, that it wasn’t going to come in one fell swoop. Every day, he’s gotten better and better and I think he’s recognizing just how to kind of play the game with his hockey smarts.

“He does veteran things. He does elite things, whether it’s using his body or his stick or his positioning and you’re just seeing him getting more and more comfortable: getting comfortable with our team and how we play but also his linemates and different people, as well.”

The next task is a long shot bid to make Canada’s Olympic team one more time in NHL players’ return to the Games in Milan in February. He’d also like to help the Jets win the Cup for the first time, and his teammates love having Toews around.

“It’s the leadership he has, the things he’s done in this league, and there’s nothing that he hasn’t done,” Tanner Pearson said. “It goes a long way. [He] helps us along. He’s very vocal in the room, says the right things.”

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Coming off a franchise-best 116-point season and Central Division title, the Jets started 2024-25 so fast and never looked back, but in the end, a six-game loss to the Dallas Stars in Round 2 left them well short of their goals.

The Jets see themselves as Stanley Cup contenders, and why not when your goalie is the best in the world and the reigning MVP of the league? Winnipeg will go as far as Connor Hellebuyck will take them, though his playoff numbers haven’t been as standout for the past three years in a row — and in the series the Jets were eliminated in, he was outplayed by fellow American Jake Oettinger.

Winnipeg is certainly hoping their Stanley Cup window is still open this season, though it’s hard to see them getting off to as fast a start in 2025-26. First, there are the injury holes left behind by Adam Lowry and Dylan Samberg, two key players who will miss at least the first month or more. Then there is the loss of highly productive winger Nikolaj Ehlers, a key second-line contributor who drove that trio with great per-minute output at 5-on-5. He’s in Carolina now, and the Jets weren’t able to replace him from the outside, so they have to make do with what they have within.

As we wrap up our look at the 32 NHL teams in 32 days, we take a look at the Winnipeg Jets.

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After two years away, ‘Captain Serious’ returns to the NHL, now 37 years old and a member of his hometown team. The idea isn’t that Toews has to jump straight into a key role where the Jets need him to be what he was to the Blackhawks. Toews’ contract is one with a $2 million base salary, plus $5 million in performance bonuses that are mostly games played benchmarks. It’s a big question how well he’ll handle the grind of an 82-game season after being out for so long; for now, he’s day-to-day and will miss their pre-season finale on Friday.

The hope is that by the second half of the season, and certainly the playoffs, Toews is playing a difference-making role down the middle and give the team quality centre depth. Best case scenario is that Toews can end up in the 2C role, and if healthy, he will have to start there with Adam Lowry out until November. If he ends up as their 3C when Lowry returns, that could work out, too. But the worst-case scenario is that the grind is overwhelming, or he can’t stay healthy, which would leave the Jets with yet another questionable hole.

Under-the-radar player to watch: Gustav Nyquist

Losing Nikolaj Ehlers to Carolina in free agency leaves a big hole in Winnipeg’s lineup as he was a key line driver on the second unit, and there’s no way to directly fill in for him. Gustav Nyquist is likely to start the season on right wing of the second line, opposite Cole Perfetti, and while two years ago Nyquist was a 75-point scorer in Nashville, he managed just 28 points between the Predators and Wild in 2024-25. This is a 36-year-old player now whose best years are behind him, yet the Jets are hoping he can hang in the top six. If he can stay there all season, it’s because things are going right — best case scenario is that the trio of Nyquist, Perfetti and Toews finds chemistry and gets better as the year goes. But if Nyquist is slow to produce, the team will have to look to Alex Iafallo or Vlad Namestnikov to step up and at that point, the second line could be a sore issue for the team, especially if Toews also struggles.

Acquired in last year’s Rutger McGroarty trade, Yager — the 14th overall pick in 2023 — is graduating from major junior and though he got better as Winnipeg’s pre-season went along, was unsurprisingly sent to AHL Manitoba. The Jets won’t want to rush their top prospects so it wouldn’t be surprising if Yager spends the whole year in the AHL. In time, the hope is that he becomes a second-line NHL centre, but that will take some patience. Yager was a solid producer in the WHL, though his offensive numbers did dip last season and the Jets will be cautious with rushing him along.

1. How will they fare without Adam Lowry to start the season?

Hip surgery has Lowry on the sidelines to start the year, with a target to return in November. This right away will put stress on the forwards, especially the centres, as Lowry is not just a smart and reliable defensive pivot, but also one that can deliver enough offence to hang on the second line when needed. With Toews coming back from two years off and Ehlers gone, Winnipeg’s second line is facing some serious questions and, without Lowry, they don’t have any cover from the third line either. The good news is that of the 11 games Winnipeg plays in October, only three come against teams that made the playoffs last season. On top of Lowry, the Jets will miss key defenceman Dylan Samberg for six-to-eight weeks after he broke his wrist, so how the Jets manage in the early-going with these key injuries will set the tone for the rest of their season. Will they be chasing, or in control, when everyone gets back?

2. Can Cole Perfetti have a breakout season?

Perfetti might be the Jets’ most important X-Factor because he is the only returning line driver to that second unit facing so many questions and concerns. Once the prized prospect in Winnipeg’s system, the 23-year-old Perfetti had a career-high 50 points last season but needs to push that higher and be someone who can elevate Toews, Nyquist, or whoever ends up alongside him this season with his playmaking ability. If Perfetti doesn’t take a step, it’s another concern the Jets have to manage and puts them behind the other contenders in their own division.

The rising salary has the NHL in a weird place, where prior comparables are out the window and new benchmarks are being set. Connor is one of this year’s top pending free agents, and while he won’t push anywhere near Kirill Kaprizov’s $17 million, what’s interesting is how the resetting market will impact Winnipeg’s internal cap. Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck are their highest-paid players, both signed for $8.5 million through the 2030-31 season, but the market conditions Connor is negotiating in are wildly different now. With two 40-goal seasons in the past four years (and four 30-goal seasons), Connor ranks 13th in NHL goal scoring over that span and would be a highly attractive free agent — or trade target — if it came to that. But if the Jets have to lose another key offensive contributor, it would be devastating to their standing as a Cup contender.

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Marcus Foligno’s short-handed goal at 14:29 of the second period snapped a 2-2 deadlock and lifted the Wild to the win at Grand Casino Arena.

Toews left the contest after his last shift, which came with 9:05 remaining in the second frame, and he didn’t return in the third.

Namestnikov, meanwhile, went to the locker room after being hit from behind by Yakov Trenin into the boards late in the third period. The 32-year-old didn’t return after appearing to hit his head on the play.

Before leaving, the 37-year-old Toews logged just over 10 minutes of ice time and won six of the 10 faceoffs he took.

Arniel added that Namestnikov was pulled by the concussion spotter, but said he was fine and that it was “more upper body than his head.”

Cole Koepke and Namestnikov scored for the Jets in the losing effort.

Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov also scored for the Wild, who were tied 1-1 after the first period and took a 3-2 lead into the third.

Wild netminder Jesper Wallstedt stopped 26 of 28 shots to post the victory. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 16 of 19 shots in the Jets’ net.

The Wild went 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Jets were 0-for-4.

Toews landed with his hometown Jets on a one-year, $2 million contract in the off-season, returning to the NHL after missing significant time due to long COVID and a chronic immune response syndrome diagnosis.

He last played in April 2023 and took two seasons off to focus on his health before indicating making the decision to return to hockey earlier this year.

Tuesday marked the third pre-season game that Toews has played. The three-time Stanley Cup champ has been skating on a line with wingers Cole Perfetti and Nino Niederreiter.

— With files from the Canadian Press

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