Add Jonathan Toews name to the list of NHL players that don’t want the NHL to pull its players from participating in the Winter Olympics.
“To be 100 percent honest, I’d be extremely disappointed if it’s (olympics) pulled off the table,” Toews told Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun during the NHL Player Media Tour on Tuesday.
The NHL has yet to decided if it will send players to the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, or to Beijing in 2022. Concerns include the distance players need to travel, disruptions to the NHL schedule in midseason and questions over the benefits the NHL receives from participating in the tournament.
The league may question what benefits it receives, but for Toews his benefit is all in the hardware he’s earned in his last two trips to the Games.
The Chicago Blackhawks captain won gold with Team Canada in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics with Blackhawks teammate Duncan Keith. Brent Seabrook joined the duo in 2010, and Patrick Sharp did the same in 2014.
In 2010, Toews, along with Seabrook and Keith became the fourth, fifth and sixth players to win both Olympic gold medals and the Stanley Cup in the same year. Toews also became the 24th and youngest player in the Triple Gold Club — Olympic gold, World Championships gold and Stanley Cup — that year, following up his Olympic gold medal with the Cup. He had previously won the World Championships in 2007.
Toews had a team-high eight points, and scored the opening goal in Canada’s 3-2 overtime win in the 2010 gold medal game against the United States. He was named Best Forward and tournament all-star team honors. In 2014, he also scored the opening goal in the gold medal game, this time against Sweden.
“It is an incredible thing to represent your country,” Toews told The Globe and Mail. “There is a sense of pride you receive not only from being part of the hockey team, but from being part of the bigger group of athletes. I would be disappointed if we weren’t able to perform on that international stage. More than just hockey fans are watching. It’s huge.”