Toronto’s Next Big Move: Maple Leafs Explore Trade Options for Former Stanley Cup Winner

Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours. The Toronto Maple Leafs is one of a few teams believed to be interested in former Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. The 36-year-old is a free agent and has not made an NHL appearance since the 2022-23 season. Toews was the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Blackhawks and has played 15 seasons for the club.

Toews has done so much throughout his career. He won three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks and is a member of the Triple Gold Club. He also won a Conn Smythe and a Selke Trophy. In the NHL he played 1,067 games, scoring 372 goals and 511 assists for 883 points. In 2017 Toews was named to the NHL’s greatest 100 players in the league’s first 100 years. There’s no doubt that he will be in the Hockey Hall of Fame at some point.

Maple Leafs Could Have Toews On Their Radar

According to the Daily Faceoff’s Frank Serivalli, three teams could be on the radar to acquire Toews if he were to come back to the NHL. The other two teams listed by Serivalli were the Colorado Avalanche and his hometown team, the Winnipeg Jets. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast added that plenty of teams would be interested in speaking with the centre to see where he’s at mentally and physically. However, he doesn’t believe contenders would be jumping on him this season given how long he’s been away from the NHL.

Brad Treliving has been browsing for a centre over the last couple of months. Therefore, Toews could fit into that description and suit what the Maple Leafs are looking for. However, being out of action for over two years, it would be pretty challenging to jump back into the NHL.

Toews was dealing with some internal issues in his remaining years before taking a break from hockey. He has been dealing with the effects and symptoms of long COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome. In other words, Toews has been having inflammatory and immune system issues. Ultimately, that’s what forced him out of hockey.

In the meantime, Toews has been on a “healing journey” in India. He’s been undergoing an Ayurvedic detox called Panchakarma. Ayurveda is an Indian healing science that’s been around for over 5,000 years. All the help, medicines and rituals that Toews is going through are all an attempt to heal and clean his body.

Toronto’s History With Storied Veterans

The Maple Leafs are no stranger when it comes to acquiring veterans past their primes. A couple of examples would be San Jose Sharks legends Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. It’s a way to bring in some veteran leadership into a team that hasn’t had much playoff success over the years. Thornton and Marleau played for the Leafs at separate times, but both had the same goal. Neither of them had won a Stanley Cup and the Sharks were declining. Therefore, they wanted to chase a Cup elsewhere and that destination was Toronto at one point for them. In the end, they didn’t win their Cup before retiring and fans were skeptical of the vet experiment too.

In the hypothetical situation where Toews could join the Leafs, it wouldn’t be ‘Cup chasing.’ Rather, it would be genuine interest from Treliving and the Leafs to acquire a player who is known for their leadership. Toews also has the experience of winning multiple Cups, something Toronto has never had in recent memory.