Three-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Toews ends his NHL career as a Winnipeg Jet
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WINNIPEG – Jonathan Toews won three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, a world hockey championship and two world junior championships — not to mention a long list of individual honours, including the Conn Smythe and Selke trophies.
So as Toews announced his retirement Friday to bring the curtain down on a decorated NHL career, he was asked if there were any accomplishments missing from his resume.
“No, I want to sit here and say I have no regrets,” Toews said before about 100 invited guests at the Jonathan Toews Sportsplex. “I did the best that I could with what I knew at the time. That’s part of the journey. It’s not always going to be perfect.
“All in all, if someone told me when I was getting drafted that we would be standing here today and this is how my career would go out, I would have signed up for that 100 times over.”
A Winnipeg native, the 38-year-old Toews joined his hometown Jets for an NHL comeback last season after a two-year absence related to Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and long COVID.
The 38-year-old centre spent 15 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks before that, captaining the franchise to Stanley Cup titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015 while being named playoff MVP in 2010.
Bound for the Hockey Hall of Fame, Toews finished his career with 383 goals and 921 points in 1,149 games, adding another 45 goals and 119 points in 137 playoff games while being recognized as one of the league’s premier two-way forwards.
“I would have loved to have played longer and maybe hit a few personal milestones but, at the end of the day, I’m thankful for the team success I was able to be a part of,” he said. “That means the world to me.”
If Toews had one regret, it was that he did not play better when he suited up for the Jets last season after facing health problems.
“The energy and the conditioning, it was never quite where I wanted it to be,” he said. “The speed of the game has definitely gone up and mine didn’t quite follow that. It’s hard to think the game and it’s hard to relax with the puck, and it’s hard to even know how much time and space you have when you’re a step slow everywhere you go.”
“I maybe underestimated how much time it would take me to start really feeling the game and feeling confident in a lot of different situations,” he added. “Things started to get better as the 30-game mark came around but that’s the same time when the (tight) schedule started really beating me into the ground, too.”
Toews totalled 11 goals and 29 points in 82 games for Winnipeg, but finished top three in the NHL in faceoff percentage.
“Just coming back and playing all 82 games, it’s a special feat,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry. “But, to do it coming off of two years away from the game, what he had to go through just to get back, and in a condensed schedule, it’s incredible.
“He’s going to go down as one of the best two-way centremen, especially in the last generation. All of us were fortunate to grow up watching him and then, play against him and then, get the opportunity to play with him.”
Toews’ final season allowed one of Manitoba’s most accomplished hockey players to complete a full-circle return home before stepping away from the game.
He thanked Jets co-owner Mark Chipman for giving him the chance to have a comeback year.
“Witnessing the effort you made to play all 82 games under the physical strain you’ve been facing the past six years is something I’ll never forget,” Chipman said. “It’s just one of the many, many reasons I’m so proud and humble you’re retiring as a Winnipeg Jet.
“Jonathan, you made the game better because you made everyone around you better and took it to another level. The game is going to miss you and we’re all going to miss watching you play.”
Toews, who was awarded the Order of Manitoba in 2015, starred for Canada on the international stage, winning Olympic gold twice in 2010 and 2014, the World Cup in 2016, a world championship in 2007 and consecutive world junior titles in 2006 and 2007.
Toews said he has no immediate plans for his future. He hopes to enjoy his retirement but will miss the camaraderie in the NHL.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 19, 2026