Black Hawks star Jonathan Toews is set to finally make a comeback from chronic immune response syndrome and the novel coronavirus, as the three-time Stanley Cup winner continues to gain weight in retirement.
Jonathan Toews is preparing to return to the Chicago Blackhawks lineup after battling COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome for most of the past two years.
Toews has not played since January, when he was sidelined from the game due to health issues.
Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson announced Friday that Toyos will play Saturday against the visiting New Jersey Devils.
As Richardson recalled, Toews told him his return “won’t be perfect” and “could be ugly”.
But for a 24-45-6 team, that’s not a problem, Richardson explained: “I said, ‘We’re a little ugly right now, so you’ll be fit now.'” “
Jonathan Toews is preparing to return to the Chicago Blackhawks lineup
Toews has not made any long-term plans, regarding his potential retirement.
“To be completely honest, I’m not even close to making that decision yet,” Toews told NBC Sports Chicago. “I don’t feel what I went through this year and last season that I have enough clarity about what this decision is.”
The 34-year-old three-time Stanley Cup champion is in the final year of an $84 million contract, and recently lost longtime teammate Patrick Kane, who was traded to the New York Rangers.
Toews returned to ice practice earlier this week.
He hasn’t played since Jan. 28, but he spoke to the media for the first time in weeks on Tuesday morning, saying he didn’t know if he’d play beyond this season.
I don’t know if it was when we were on the road a lot or in the run up to the break and it just got to the point where I couldn’t move on the ice and I didn’t even want to put my skates on or roll out of bed to get to the rink so it was A bit harsh, as quoted by The Athletic.
So I guess it took me probably two weeks of just wrestling, in my head, trying to figure out the right decision, if I should keep trying to move on with it, which really didn’t feel like a choice anymore…or kind of pull the plug and try Focusing my energy on getting better.
Toews couldn’t help but address Kane’s absence when he spoke to reporters earlier in the week.
‘Guys who’ve been part of this room the last few years, a guy like Kanner who I’ve played with my whole career, he’s back in the locker room right now and it looks a lot different but it’s definitely special to me, no matter what happens in the future. Summer, it sure is on my mind that this may be the last few weeks here in Chicago as a Blackhawk.
Toews hasn’t played since January as he struggled with lethargy and Covid for a long time