Why Jonathan Toews is the best captain in Blackhawks history

Jonathan Toews made his NHL retirement official yesterday as he announced that he will hang up his skates for good. He ends his career as one of the top talents to ever play the game.

Very few people have had a greater impact on the Chicago Blackhawks organization over the course of its 100-year history than Toews. He led the way towards bringing the Stanley Cup back to Chicago and making the Blackhawks a powerhouse team throughout the 2010's.

It was Toews' contributions as team captain that were most impressive and left a lasting mark. This team has had many distinguished leaders over the years, but none have matched the legacy of Toews.

Jonathan Toews led by example

Toews had all the necessary qualities to become the Blackhawks leader. From day one, he displayed an unrivaled work ethic that bled through the rest of the group. His immediate impact was so great that the team entrusted him with the captaincy at the tender age of 20 years old. Toews became the youngest captain in the history of the Original 6 franchise.

As Toews remarked in his retirement speech on Friday, it was hard for him to fathom such a storied squad placing that level of responsibility on a sophomore player. Heading into the 2008-2009 season, this was a team that had not made the playoffs since 2002. More notably, they had not won a championship since 1961. At the time, that was the second-longest Cup drought in league history.

This move was a gamble. And the risk paid off as Toews played an integral role in propelling his team back to the postseason in 2009. They followed that up by bringing home Lord Stanley in 2010. Toews was the top playoff performer as he added the Conn Smythe trophy to his case. Keep in mind, he did all this in just his third NHL season.

The winning would not stop there, as Toews would win two more Stanley Cups across his tenure in 2013 and 2015. In the last run, Toews lifted the Cup on Chicago ice as it was won at home for the first time since 1938. With three Cups in six years, the Blackhawks capped off a modern-day dynasty.

Eight seasons into his career, Toews was already a three-time champion. The Blackhawks were the only team to have won multiple Stanley Cups in the salary cap era. At 27 years old, the question became how many more Toews would win with that core moving forward.

Unfortunately, mainly due to poor management decisions, Chicago would not win another championship with Toews. His stint with the Blackhawks came to an end in 2023. The team entered unfamiliar territory in the ensuing campaign, the first since the 2007-2008 season that did not feature Toews as captain.

There have been many tremendous players who have received the honor of serving as a Blackhawks captain. From the likes of Stan Mikita, Denis Savard, Chris Chelios, Pierre Pilote, Tony Amonte, Troy Murray, etc., the list is stout. However, none match the impact Toews had on the legacy of this team. Toews paved the way towards bringing a struggling franchise back from the dead and returning to the summit of the mountain.

The case can be made that there have been better players to hold the Blackhawks captaincy. But, Toews is the winningest captain in team history. They won as many Stanley Cups during his 15 years with them as they have in the 85 years without him. Toews was the pulse of that 2010's core. There was arguably no player who was more important to the team's success than he was.

Toews set the bar high for what it means to be a Blackhawks captain. He is the roadmap for future leaders to follow (looking at you, Mr. Bedard). But there will never be another Jonathan Toews. There is no doubt the United Center will see his No. 19 amongst the banners one day, perhaps a statue built outside the arena in his honor as well.

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