It’s true that Toews has openly wondered whether he has the heart to endure a prolonged rebuild at this stage of his career, even though he’s exactly the type of veteran pillar the Blackhawks need to usher in the next generation. It’s also true that Toews loves Chicago, loves the Blackhawks, loves being captain of the Chicago Blackhawks and desperately wants to finish his career playing for just one team.
Toews’ career is at a crossroads, and so is his reputation. He’s still the guy who brought so much joy to Chicago, who helped resurrect a moribund franchise, who brought out the best in so many teammates, who keeps fighting to be the player he once was even though he’d have been an easy Hall of Famer if he had just walked away after the hardest year of his life.
But he’s more than that now. He’s no longer the monolithic paean to Leadership, Grit and Clutch that we all made him out to be for so long. He’s flawed. He’s human. He’s complicated, deserving of scrutiny and grace and maybe even forgiveness, if you feel he requires and warrants it. One thousand games into his career, Toews is still writing his own legacy. And how he closes the final chapter will go a long way toward determining how he’ll be remembered.
-Mark Lazerus of The Athletic on Jonathan Toews. Lazerus has much more (paid) on Toews.
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