Jonathan Toews an option for the Maple Leafs after a year away?

Former captain of the Chicago Blackhawks and 3-time Stanley Cup champion, Toews was forced to step back from the NHL due to health complications. He took to his Instagram account in August of 2023 to announce he wasn't fully retiring just yet but due to health issues pertaining to COVID, he wasn't going to be able to suit up for the 2023-24 season.

Toews only played 53 games during the 2022-23 season and sat out the entire 2020-21 campaign due to symptoms of COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome. He came back for the 2021-22 season and scored 12 goals and 37 points in 71 games played and in 2022-23 he recorded 15 goals and 31 points in 53 games played but admitted it was difficult to play at times.

While nothing is imminent pertaining to his return to action in 2024-25, if he were to throw his hat into the ring, plenty of teams would be more than happy to have the 36-year-old on their roster - including the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander occupying a large portion of the salary cap over the years, the Maple Leafs have really tried to fortify their bottom-6 with complimentary depth pieces but haven't been successful for the most part.

Toews would come in at a reduced cost - probably around the $1 million mark - and not only fill in at the centre position but he would bring in so many intangibles that almost every team covets in experience, leadership, face-offs, penalty killing, and at this point in his career either secondary or tertiary scoring.

Toews is a veteran of 1,067 regular season games where he accumulated 372 goals and 883 points for the Blackhawks. He played in a total of 137 post-season contests where he scored 45 goals and 119 points including 29 points in 22 games en route to their first Stanley Cup in 2010 - where he won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP.

Additionally he has a Mark Messier Leadership Award under his belt, a Selke Trophy, was named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary Team, and of course the 3 Stanley Cups. Internationally he won 2 Olympic gold medals for Canada in 2010 and 2014, a World Championship gold medal, and 2 World Junior golds in 2006 and 2007. He is also just one of 30 players to be apart of the IIHF's Triple Gold Club.

The Maple Leafs have a lot of decisions to make this summer including possible extensions for Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi but if bringing in Toews is on the table this summer, Brad Treliving and company should be all over that - and maybe make it a top priority.

Toronto lacks a lot of the aforementioned intangibles, Toews has been through it all in his illustrious career, and a 1-year prove-it-deal won't hurt them financially either. Having Matthews, Tavares, and Toews as your 1-2-3 options down the middle would be pretty lethal and could finally be the solution to their playoff failures.

Source for Jonathan Toews' health concerns:
Jonathan Toews to Take Time Away from NHL in 2023-24

Source for Toews' statistics:
Jonathan Toews