Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson met with the media Thursday morning and confirmed something that’s been speculated from just about every corner of the internet: Thursday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers will be the last time that captain Jonathan Toews plays for Chicago.
Tonight will be Jonathan Toews’ last game as a Blackhawk❤️ pic.twitter.com/di4fTbr3g6
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 13, 2023
Davidson added additional comments on Toews during that media session:
Final discussion about this was held in Seattle, Davidson says.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) April 13, 2023
Davidson added that Toews was not offered a contract, similar to what happened with Patrick Kane:
Davidson said he expects Toews to play next season somewhere else.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 13, 2023
Thursday’s game will be the 1,067th of Toews career, with 371 goals and 511 assists already tallied along with a Conn Smythe, a Selke, and three Stanley Cups. But a new era of Blackhawks hockey is upon us and Davidson wanted to clear the way for that next generation of players to step into the leadership roles:
Kyle Davidson says the logic behind moving on from Patrick Kane & Jonathan Toews is to allow for the next group of young players to have the chance for “organic growth” in their careers & leadership roles, same way Toews & Kane, etc. had those opportunities years ago#Blackhawks
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) April 13, 2023
There is no morning skate before Thursday’s game, so any comments from Toews will not come until postgame. We’ll add any develops on this story should they arise.