BLOG: Toews Returns to Practice After Missing Some Time

After
releasing a statement
that he would step away from the ice for some time, Jonathan Toews rejoined his fellow Blackhawks teammates on the ice during Tuesday's morning skate.
The Blackhawks' captain first skated on his own on Sunday after missing over two months of action while dealing with symptoms of Long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome. While he missed the feeling of his usual routine, he is mostly grateful to back together with his teammates.
"It's something you take for granted and you definitely realize when you're out of the routine and away from the locker room, not going on the road with the boys, all that stuff, and you're just kind of on your own slugging through every day," Toews said. "So, that part of it's not easy. So, it's definitely nice to be back and one the ice with the guys."

Toews last played on Jan. 28 in the team's 7-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, where he netted a power play goal in the third period. In 46 games this season, the veteran Chicago forward produced 14 goals and 14 assists.
Following the All-Star break, Toews felt that he needed to step away from the ice for a little bit after he felt he wasn't progressing at the rate that he needed to. Over the month apart from the team, he started to see a more encouraging progression to help and try to return to the lineup.
"Since last season, I just felt like I was slowly progressing and so it was a good thing to just continue to play through and knowing that I do see light at the end of the tunnel as far as feeling somewhat normal again, and able to perform at the level that I want to play on the ice," Toews said. "But it just got to a point where I just wasn't recovering and was just progressively getting worse and was starting to get pretty alarmed."

While Toews doesn't have a specific date of return on his mind, he want to continue building his energy and working with the team and try to make that moment a reality.
As for head coach Luke Richardson, having the captain back on the ice brings a different presence into the locker room. With a team of mostly new faces, the veteran Blackhawk can bring his leadership knowledge and help others on the team as they step into different roles.
"It was great to have him in there," Richardson said. "Just [to have] his presence in the room for the meetings and on the ice and just talking to him about helping [Athanasiou] with some face off tips and stuff like that. So, it's great to have the leader back in there and hopefully this progresses to the next stage."
Tyler Johnson described the persona that Toews brings into the room that provides a different energy for the team. When he enters the room, it gives the team a new joy to their faces and hope that he can rejoin them soon.
"He's a guy that, at least for me, every time I see him, I just smile," Johnson said. "He has that persona. He has that 'it' about him that just makes everyone a little bit happier, so it was great to see him around. We've been seeing him in the locker room here and there. But hopefully he continues to feel better, and we'd love to get him back on with us full time here."
While he admitted that it was a difficult decision to pull himself away from the game, he knew he had to step away not only for his physical health, but mentally as well. With a fast-paced sport and constant travel to different cities, he felt that the needed to put his health first before it was decided for him.
After hearing that the 34-year-old forward struggled within the month of January, Richardson and the coaching staff talked with the training staff to see what could be done to help the veteran leader. Moving forward, Richardson wants to help the captain return to the ice at his speed with the help of the medical staff.
"He deserves anything that he wants to try and achieve here," Richardson said. "We're going to try and help him get that [next step]. He's an iconic player here in the city and in this franchise. So, for us to help them him in way we can, and we've tried to do that throughout this process."

With only a handful of games remaining on the schedule, Toews is hoping to make an appearance in the lineup before the season comes to an end. Although, he is still trying to find his rhythm within a gameday routine, he wants to try and absorb the moments of returning to action before he plans for his future.
"Regardless of what happens in the future, this summer, it's definitely on my mind that this could be my last few weeks here in Chicago as a Blackhawk," Toews said. "So, it's definitely very important for me to just go out there and just enjoy the game and just kind of soak it in and just really appreciate everything that I've been able to be a part of here in Chicago and show my appreciation to the fans as well."