Jonathan Toews is feeling better, but…

It was very exciting to see Jonathan Toews playing for the Chicago Blackhawks’ preseason opener on Wednesday. 

It was the first time in 407 days that the Hawks’ captain played in a hockey game and several pundits and insiders present at the game couldn’t tell it had been this long. 

Toews managed to record an assist, three shots on goal, two takeaways, a shootout goal and won 15 of 21 faceoffs for a percentage of 71.5 in Chicago’s preseason against the Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks unfortunately loss 4-3 in a shootout, but Toews faced reporters after the contest and was pleased with his performance. 

However, he knows there is still a lot of work ahead, with the season opener against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday Oct. 13th. 

“It felt great,” Toews said. “I was really happy to be back in the room, out on the ice. Pretty amazing turnout with the fans tonight. Obviously got my work cut out for me, but it’s coming.”

We can’t say what the superstar meant by “my work cut out for me”, but insiders wonder if Toews will be doing good enough to take on a full calendar. 

On the last day of June, Toews shared a video explained how missed the entire 2021 season due to what is being called chronic immune response syndrome. While there is no timetable for Toews’ return, some thought that his participation in the preseason opener was a great sign. But now, they are wondering… 

Toews was the most used forward on the ice on Wednesday, logging close to 23 minutes of ice time, and might be feeling it now. 

“It felt like that pretty much. I can’t say I expected that, but even though it doesn’t look pretty yet, everyone is going through the motions trying to find their groove a little bit, find our team game. … That’s the whole point of these games, to try to settle in a little bit.”

Head coach Jeremy Colliton was also asked about Toews’ ice time as fans fear the captain could get too tired before the 2021-22 season even gets started. Colliton wasn’t expecting to play him that much either, but that’s how it played out. Toews logged 3:28 on the power play, 1:12 on the penalty kill and 2:17 in overtime. 

“No, I wasn’t planning on 22 but I thought he looked good,” Colliton said. “He responded better than I hoped, so we’ll see. We’ll monitor it, take it day by day and see how he feels tomorrow. But it was nice to have him back.”

With what Toews showed on the ice on Wednesday, it feels like he could be in the lineup for the season opener, but his health remains the most important thing and I bet Toews continues to take his time and evaluate his body on a daily basis. 

 “The legs are tired. We got pretty good skates in practices. But I feel better than Day 1. So I feel pretty good about my progress. Just getting in shape, I guess.”

Toews will take part in Friday's preseason game as well, and so this is another great sign.