Toews calls it a career after one final season in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG – After 1,149 regular season games, 139 postseason contests and three Stanley Cups, Winnipeg’s Jonathan Toews is officially retiring.

Toews played his final season with his hometown Winnipeg Jets after working his way back from health complications that forced him to be away from the game for two seasons. The 38-year-old finished with 11 goals and 29 points and played all 82 games in the 2025-26 season.

“I have to say I’m satisfied; I’m fulfilled. I’m so thankful and grateful for the career I had,” said Toews.

“But at this point it’s one thing to be healthy and to have the hunger. There’s no doubt in my mind that I have the skillset to continue to play at this level and be an offensive player the way I know I can. But it’s just come to the point where it’s taken such a toll, I’m just kind of ready to let the stress level go down.”

With a decision as tough as this one, Toews has spent time talking with many of his former Chicago Blackhawks teammates who have faced the same situation themselves.

“We all watch the game, we talk hockey together, and we all have that kind of inner competitor that still believes we can play, and it's definitely easy to be a critic of the game from the cheap seats, but you always have that competitive nature,” said Toews.

“Yeah, there's some aspects to it that will always be difficult, especially these next few years I'm sure, but it's just a kind of intuitive feel that it's the right time, and like I said, I'm happy I gave it another shot, regardless of how things went this year.”

The most impressive stat from Toews season with the Jets is the 82 games played after missing so much time away from the NHL. But when asked about what impressed him about what will be his final season, Toews focused more on what he didn’t accomplish.

“I liked the way I was progressing around the 30-game mark. I felt like I had flashes where I was able to go out and make some big plays and got some chances on the top power play unit. Sometimes getting a point or a goal, it definitely gives you a lot of energy, you know, it gives you a good boost to keep going, that you're getting the rewards for doing things the right way. But if it was any other season, it might have been different, but just with the schedule, it was such a challenge to recover and get ready for the next game, and, and so on, that level, my body just was not cooperating,” said Toews.

“We needed a second line center that could play north of 15 minutes, and I think Arnie did his best to give me that chance, but it was tough to go out there and play with energy and play with jump when I would get those minutes, and I think he was just looking for that consistency in that position, and he unfortunately wasn't getting it from me.”

The goal was never simply to wear a Jets jersey for 82 games. Every workout, every rehab session, every difficult day was fueled by something bigger. Toews came back to his hometown chasing the same dream as every Jets fan—a Stanley Cup making its way down Portage Avenue.

“I haven't really spent a whole lot of time in Winnipeg, especially in my late 20s and early 30s, (I) spent a lot of time in Chicago in the summers, and just to get reacquainted with the city and the reception was incredible, so just to get reacquainted with the city and the reception was incredible,” said Toews.

“I’m not gonna lie, you visualize the dream of coming home and winning a playoff series and going on a run and winning a Stanley Cup and playing the hero and all those things, and when things go sideways a little bit, it was heartbreaking. I'm not gonna lie, I felt like I wish I could have done more and wanted to do more for the team and for the boys and for Mark Chipman, for everyone that gave me the opportunity.”

Toews squared off against the Jets 40 times during his career with the Blackhawks, gaining plenty of respect for the team from Winnipeg. This past season, however, gave him a new perspective and an even greater appreciation for Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele, Connor Hellebuyck, Kyle Connor, Adam Lowry and the rest of the Jets roster.

“I could make comments about a lot of the guys. J-Mo is this elite defenceman and just his playmaking ability, his ability to skate with the puck, I think his competitive nature really stood out. Scheif, I think you know he's in a lot of ways I compared him to Kaner (Patrick Kane), he's bigger and maybe stronger, a little bit faster, but the way he approached the game so methodically, the way he thinks about the game, and he doesn't really have to rely on his size or speed too much, because he's so good at managing his space with the puck,” said Toews.

“KC and Bucky are just incredible talents but a guy like Lows, to be in the locker room with him, to see the presence that he has, he’s always having fun, he’s always keeping it light. He says the right things when the time is right, when the team needs to hear it. So, I mean, I have so much respect for him and the leadership, the leadership group. So, again, just a great locker room makes me sad. I won't be a part of it again next year.”

For all the challenges he endured, there was one victory that meant more than any statistic or milestone. Toews got to decide when it was time to retire. A year earlier, it looked as though fate might make that decision for him.

“I mean, I feel it. You kind of feel the flow of your life and your career, and I know there's some guys that maybe fight against that flow, and they want to keep going, and they're not getting any offers, any calls,” said Toews.

 “But I think in some ways that I've just kind of felt in the situation and really realized that it's time for me.”