CHICAGO — This season has been a challenge for the Chicago Blackhawks and Jonathan Toews in particular.
When you run it all down — a comeback from Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), a nine-game winless streak to start the season, a coaching change, a monthlong stint in concussion protocol and a recent eight-game winless stretch during which the Hawks were officially eliminated from the playoffs — it could take a lot out of anyone.
But Toews reported Wednesday that he’s “feeling like myself again.”
Asked more about his health — including his battle with CIRS, which saps his energy and makes him feel abnormal at times — Toews said: “I wouldn’t say there were any setbacks, but I’ve seen progress all year, physically and mentally and everything in between.
“Let’s face it, if you don’t come into a season in shape, ready to go at your peak, the game’s just getting younger and faster and our schedule is crazy, so it’s really hard to get ahead of the game when you come in way behind the eight-ball.”
He said missing a month after suffering the concussion in late January “was huge for me, just to be able to get that rest.” And he received an emotional lift from playing his 1,000th game on March 31.
Still, on the ice, Toews didn’t come close to what he produced in his prime. He entered Wednesday night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights with 12 goals and 25 assists in 69 games.
“Obviously not what I expected out of myself, even though I missed an entire season (in 2020-21),” he said. “Was definitely more challenging than I expected it to be. I feel like I learned more about myself and the game than any of those years where we were on top of the world.”
The question is whether he’s ready to endure at least one more season under similar conditions with his eight-year contract running out next season.
Patrick Kane, Toews’ partner in three Stanley Cup runs between 2010 and 2015, said Tuesday the front office’s rebuilding mission doesn’t necessarily conflict with his and other veterans’ desire for a quick turnaround. Kane cited the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers as examples of teams that blossomed ahead of schedule.
“I agree with him in that sense,” Toews said. “Like we’ve seen with other teams, things can turn around pretty quickly. If a lot of different guys are given the right environment and right opportunity and keep taking steps forward, I think things —.
“You don’t want to make excuses when you look back on a season like this, but there are just so many things that made it feel like we’re working against the grain always. Whether it was the losing streak to start the season, goal droughts, just go down the list. ... If we can all take those learning opportunities from it and all get better individually, I see us all improving quite a bit.”
Alex DeBrincat expressed similar sentiments this week, and defenseman Seth Jones joined the chorus Wednesday.
“If we have a good foundation, a good system for guys to come in and learn together, it can happen quicker than you expect,” Jones said. “L.A.’s went pretty quick, quicker than a lot of people thought. Anaheim was pretty good this year as well. I don’t think they realized how good they could be.”
Jones and Toews both pointed to players who are already in the locker room stepping up.
“The message definitely has to be that all this trial and error, all this pain, all the ups and downs of the season has to be for something,” Toews said. “Each guy has to figure out what that means to him and what they want out of their life and their hockey career, and if we can all find ways to be better individual players and people and teammates, then there’s huge potential there.”
To realize that potential, however, the Hawks need talent in the pipeline. New general manager Kyle Davidson said the previous administration, of which he was a part, was guilty of taking “from the future to build the present,” and he vowed not to fall into the trap of mortgaging the future for quick fixes.
One of Davidson’s acquisitions, Taylor Raddysh, scored twice Wednesday and young defenseman Caleb Jones added a third goal, but it was Tyler Johnson’s shootout goal that helped the Hawks upset the Golden Knights 4-3 in the home finale at the United Center.
The Golden Knights’ loss — their third straight in a shootout — knocked them out of the playoffs.
