“I am not fully retiring,” 3x Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Toews announces career BREAK, set to miss 2023-24 season
Three-time Stanley Cup winning captain Jonathan Toews on Thursday informed that he is taking a break from the NHL this season. He claimed health issues as a reason for his development.
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Jonathan Toews (Pic Credit: NHL)
After spending 16 years with the Chicago Blackhawks, their legendary captain, Jonathan Toews was released by the team. General manager Kyle Davidson had earlier informed that the team would not be renewing his contract once it expires. The three-time Stanley Cup winner on Thursday took to his Instagram account and posted an emotional message about his future.
In the message, Toews informed he will be taking a break from the NHL this season. He though did mention that he is not fully retiring and does plan to return to the ice field sometime later in the future.
“I’d like to announce that I am not fully retiring, but I am taking time away from the game again this season,” he wrote in his Instagram post. The 35-year-old claimed that he has immense love for the sport but the last few seasons have been tough for him regarding his health. He further added that his main focus right now is to give himself some space and time to fully recover.
Jonathan Toews to go down as one of the modern-day greats
There are very few players in the NHL who made an instant impact on the game. After joining the team as a third-round draft pick in 2006, Jonathan Toews was named captain of the Chicago Blackhawks at the age of 20. He has since then given his all and played a huge part in the success of the Blackhawks in the past decade.
This year the hype around Blackhawks has been the pick of Connor Bedard. The youngster has shown incredible skills and could perhaps be next in line to succeed Toews. He has managed to score 372 goals and 511 assists while captaining the side to three Stanley Cup triumphs in 2010, 2013, and 2015. After the announcement of his leave, he mentioned that he hoped to retire as a Blackhawk.
While leaving the franchise, Toews mentioned how he had hoped to retire with the Blackhawks and still hopes to find a way for it to happen. Following this latest announcement, he is likely to miss the 2023-24 season. He could return to the ice field during the 2024-25 season as a free agent.
This could allow him to resign from the Blackhawks. Whether he will make a comeback also remains to be seen as fans have speculated that this could be the end of his legendary career. There had been reports of him considering retirement before as well. If it is so, then Toews can still keep his head high as he will go down as one of the modern-day greats of the NHL.
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Vinay Dave
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