The Captain, Jonathan Toews, returned to Chicago for the first time wearing something else instead of the Indian-head sweater. Tazer’s contract ended after the 2022-’23 season for the Blackhawks which was a year Captain Serious only played in 53 games. Health issues had followed the center like dark clouds since the pandemic was lingering in the world. He never retired from the game as the Blackhawks had no interest in bringing him back. After a few seasons of healing the body and redefining the mindset, he then made a plan of attack on a comeback to the NHL. The Captain was sharpening up his hockey skills with weeks of training to ink a one year deal with his hometown team, the Winnipeg Jets. His hockey home will always be at the United Center in Chicago where the former Blackhawk was like a rockstar in his return to Chicago. The fans wanted encore after encore because, ‘Let’s be Serious,” he did help the franchise hoist three Stanley Cup Championships.

In his first season with the visiting Jets, Jonathan Toews has played in 49 games. This season he has lit the lamp 7 times and has dished out 11 assists for a total of 18 points. The Jets wanted to add some leadership to a team that was one of the top seeds in their conference and made the Stanley Cup playoffs last season. The Jets have been struggling this season so far. They did not get out to the fast start they did last year. In his comeback, Toews has struggled on the ice most of the season. Still very good at face-offs. Knows what he is doing on the ice but does not have that ice speed he once had. The Captain still has those leadership skills on display every night on the ice. He has improved over the last few weeks overall in his game. Perhaps he is still knocking off the rust and maybe the body is responding to the grind on the ice in a 37 year old body. He scored 372 goals in a Blackhawks uniform in 15 seasons with the team that drafted him. He also served up 511 assists wearing the Indian head sweater. He has played in 1,116 games in the NHL and will be for sure a first ballot Hall of Famer when he does hang up the skates permanently.

In the first television timeout, the Blackhawks honored Jonathan Toews with a video tribute of all his top highlights in a Blackhawks uniform. After the tribute, the fans gave the Captain one of the longest standing ovations of all-time. Chants of “Johnny” filled the air inside the UC. Toews would go on the ice waving to all his fans from the Chicago days. Both teams behind the benches whacked their sticks against the boards like in a game when their team scores or one of their own wins a fight on the ice. Toews circled the ice & raised his stick as the thunderous applause kept coming down on him as it went on for 3 to 4 minutes. The Captain looked awkward for a moment because it went on and on. Toews was never a guy that looked for the fan appreciation. He played his game on ice and did everything he could to help lead his team to a victory on that night. The hard work paid off as the UC exploded with love for their former Captain who will one day have his jersey retired after his playing days come to an end.

When Patrick Kane played his first game at the UC in the enemy sweater the night of Chris Chelios’ jersey retirement night, he crashed the party. Kane did get a thunderous applause by the fans at the UC along with a video tribute. Kaner would end up scoring the winning goal in that game as his Red Wings beat the Blackhawks in OT. In the return of Jonathan Toews, the Blackhawks shut out the Jets 2-0 as Spencer Knight had a magnificent night in front of the net stopping 32 shots for his 3rd shut out of the season. Jason Dickerson scored the first goal of the game for the Blackhawks for his 6th of the season. Then the Blackhawks’ next superstar, they hope, Connor Bedard added an empty netter late in the contest to make it the final 2-0. On hand were two young superstars right now in the mix of the Chicago sports landscape. Caleb Williams is the quarterback of the Chicago Bears who just lost in the divisional round the night before to the Rams. Then Pete Crow-Armstrong is the centerfielder of the Cubs. The Cubs made the post-season last year. All three of these guys – Williams & Crow-Armstrong along with Bedard, could learn a lot from what they witnessed at the UC in the return of the Captain. You play hard and give it all you can on the field, ice, or court playing in the town of Chicago. They will love you for a lifetime. It did not hurt that Johnny Be Good Toews helped the city capture three championships along the way. You hate seeing guys like Toews wear another team’s jersey. That’s the nature of sports nowadays which has been going on for decades. You don’t get many players from any sport that stay with one team. I wish Toews the best of luck with his home team he grew up watching, the Jets. It’s a great story. Down the road I’ll be excited when we bring back the Captain to Chicago with all the bells and whistles when the organization retires his sweater to the UC rafters, with all the great Bulls and Blackhawks players of the past. Oh Johnny, that will be hot.