Even though his Winnipeg Jets side lost 3-2 in pre-season action, Jonathan Toews got his first taste of NHL action in two-and-a-half years.
The 37-year-old played his first pre-season game with the Jets on Tuesday after signing with his hometown team in June on a one-year, $2 million contract.
It was a mostly quiet night for Toews, skating on the top line with Cole Perfetti and Gustav Nyqvist, as the veteran continues to shake off the rust.
"I felt like I made some plays and, as the game went on, just relaxed a little bit," Toews told reporters after the game. "I think the conditioning is going to come, the jump's going to come and the timing is going to be there too. So you just gotta keep working at it, keep settling in your game and trusting that I'm out there with some really good players...
"Feel like (I) can make some mistakes and survive a shift. When you get that feeling, you get a bit more confidence to go out there and make plays."
He played 18:36 — fourth in ice time amongst Jets skaters — and finished a minus-one with no shots on goal, though he did set up a scoring chance for Nyqvist in the first period and was on the ice with the extra attacker late in the third period.
"It's been a while, but even just being here in Winnipeg, being in a new locker room, lot of things to get used to," Toews continued. "At the same time, those nerves feel good and it's just exciting to play hockey again."
Toews last played on April 23, 2023, with his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks, where he served as captain. Through his last three seasons with the Blackhawks, he missed significant time after a long COVID and chronic immune response syndrome diagnosis.
He took two seasons off — 2023-24 and 2024-25 — to focus on his health before indicating in March he wanted to return to the NHL.
