Jonathan Toews reportedly considering an NHL comeback with Original Six team

The interesting part is not whether Toews says yes. It is when Chicago would need him.

Kane, who signed a two-year deal worth $8 million annually with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 23, told Pardon My Take he had pitched his former captain directly.

Toews, per Kane, said he was thinking about it.

Toews announced his retirement on June 19 in Winnipeg, at the sportsplex that carries his name.

He was 38 and coming off 29 points in all 82 games for the Winnipeg Jets.

Connor Bedard had surgery on his left shoulder on July 8 and is not expected back until November.

The 2026-27 season opens in late September under the NHL's new 84-game schedule.

That is roughly six weeks of hockey without the franchise center, on a roster that went 29-39-14 last season.

Frank Nazar is the internal answer down the middle, with 2025 third overall pick Anton Frondell behind him.

Most of the reaction treats this as sentiment and asks whether Toews' body could handle a return.

That question was settled last season.

He played all 82 games after two years away with chronic immune response syndrome, and was a Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy finalist for it.

The real obstacle is Kyle Davidson.

The Blackhawks general manager declined to re-sign Toews in 2023 specifically to hand the room to the young core, and has already reversed that stance once.

Chicago entered the summer with cap space and a stated desire to add offense.

A short-term veteran center for the Bedard window is not nostalgia.

It is a roster hole with a start date.

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