Jonathan Toews says his NHL career might not be over yet.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion hasn't played since the 2022-23 season but in a recent interview said he would like to attempt a comeback.
"There’s a part of me that really doesn't feel like my career is over yet, and who knows what this next part of the journey looks like, as far as getting back on the ice and trying to make a return to the NHL," Toews said in an interview with GQ. "There’s never any guarantees in life, but I’m going to give it my best shot."
Toews, who has played his entire 15-year career with the Blackhawks, missed the 2020-21 bubble season while recovering from COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome. He returned to play 124 more games in the following two seasons but announced in August of 2023 that he was stepping away from hockey "to give myself the time and space to fully heal and enjoy life to the fullest once again."
The 36-year-old remained out of the spotlight until November when he shared on Instagram that he had undergone an Ayurvedic Panchakarma detox in India. In the GQ interview, he discussed in depth the many layers of that detox, which included painful massages, meditative yoga and daily laxatives among other treatments.
While the experience was exhausting at the time, Toews said the reward came through feeling more in control of his life and health.
"My body was definitely trying to tell me something, and my feeling was it was teaching me how to slow down, become more present, become more appreciative of the little things, create some sort of healthy space for myself in my life, and not have to live by these high expectations all the time," he told GQ. "So it’s just an interesting way to look at things, and it's never perfect, but you do your best to try and find that balance that works for you on a deeper level, so to speak."
Toews is currently a free agent but his veteran experience would be welcome in most locker rooms across the NHL. Time will tell if he gets another chance.
"I’ve talked to a lot of the guys that are done, and a lot of them will say that desire to be on the ice competing and to be in the locker room with the guys never goes away. It’s just something that you have to accept when your time comes," Toews told GQ. "So there’s that, but at the same time, I think there’s a big part of me that really wants to give it my all, to get back on the ice and see where it takes me."
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