Jonathan Toews returns to the United Center for the first time tonight to face the Blackhawks as a visitor. His parents are in town to take part in the experience, which is going to make for both a special and bittersweet night that will certainly be filled with a lot of emotion.
Toews spoke with the media in Chicago after Winnipeg’s morning skate. He was the usual Captain Serious we all remember, speaking about trying to remain focused on an important game for the Jets but also trying to be present in the moment when he’s received by the Blackhawks fans who loved him for almost two decades — and still do.
He did crack a smile at one point when asked if he asked Patrick Kane for any advice before his moment. As always, the playful relationship between the two faces of the franchise remains in place.
Gonna enjoy the moment pic.twitter.com/hqQbhOMw9C
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) January 19, 2026Before the game, the player who spent the most time as a Blackhawk with Toews, Connor Murphy, was asked about the return of his former captain. As always, Murphy summed it up perfectly.
“He’s the one teammate I’ve ever had where you go out with him in public and people won’t just say they’re a ‘big fan,’ they’ll almost give an emotional thank you,” Murphy said. “They’ll literally say, ‘Thank you for making my life better.’ Because the impact he made representing as a leader in the community and putting his heart on his sleeve with how he played…that really resonated with people.”
When he spoke with the media after the morning skate, this comment from Murphy came up.
“I think that’s one of the coolest things and ultimately that’s I would say a big reason why I wanted to play hockey,” Toews said. “I think when I was a young kid, go to an NHL game, you just feel that inspiration and it makes you feel some kind of emotion that inspires you to go out there and do your best and try and be great at what you do. And I think it’s what we love about sports too, is that you never know what’s going to happen.
“So, to put your heart and soul into something and to be able to have that impact and inspire people in that way too, I think is what makes our sports special. And when people would come up to you and talk about where they were when you won one of the Cups or whatever it was, the story they want to share, it gives people memories and something that people in our city would bond over. So that’s pretty special to have those memories as well.”
Toews was also asked about his experience playing in Chicago.
“I’m just super thankful. Really, really grateful,” he said. “I think the beauty of our game is it’s so team oriented and I think I’m always trying to be cognizant of the fact that I was thrown into a really incredible opportunity. I give myself credit … definitely had a lot of will and a lot of energy coming into my career as a young kid here in Chicago, but it was just a perfect storm.
“We had so many great players that were finding themselves and finding their careers, finding their games at the same time, and just even the trajectory of where the organization was at the time. There was no pressure really, given the situation right now with the young players. It’s completely different than it was back then. And we always tell the stories of … I always love the story like Dunc and Seabs talking about how they handed out free tickets at the train stations in their jerseys and no one knew who they were and just stuff like that.
“I went and played the world championship after my last year in college and all the guys there were always like, you know, Chicago’s such a great sports city and once the team gets going, it’s going to be a great place to play. And sure enough, that really came true within a couple of years of being here. So just all the things kind of lining up and being able to take advantage of those opportunities was all pretty special.”
When the Blackhawks play his “Welcome back” video early in the first period, there’s no doubt it will be a moment fans in the building will never forget. Neither will the Toews family.
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