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It appears an NHL great is ready to say goodbye to his playing days.
Speculation across sports media sites is that Winnipeg’s Jonathan Toews, who played for his hometown team last season, is set to announce his retirement.
The Jets have called a news conference Friday morning at the Jonathan Toews Sportsplex in the city’s St. Vital neighbourhood.
CBC Manitoba will livestream the 11 a.m. CT news conference here and on CBC Gem.
It comes almost exactly one year after the Jets announced Toews was joining the team after 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.
Toews, 38, 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.
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 and served as captain for 14 of them, winning three Stanley Cups (2010, 2013 and 2015).
He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2010 as the most valuable player in the Cup playoffs.
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.
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 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.
