Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews will not play for Canada at 2018 World Championship
The Chicago captain will not try to win his second Worlds gold.
Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews has decided not to play for Canada at the 2018 World Championship, he told Scott Powers of The Athletic on Tuesday.
Toews, who turns 30 on April 29, will miss his sixth straight game Wednesday due to an upper-body injury since March 20. He has scored 20 goals and 52 points in his 11th NHL season. By not playing in the tournament, which runs from May 4-20 in Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark, Toews will have time to rest up from any injuries before starting his offseason training.
The Winnipeg native hasn’t played in the tournament since 2008, when Canada fell 5-4 in overtime to Russia in the gold-medal game. He has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 18 games in Worlds tournaments. He also won gold at the 2007 edition.
Toews is the youngest player to become a part of the Triple Gold Club — Olympic and Worlds gold and a Stanley Cup win — at 22 years and 42 days, when he won the 2009 Stanley Cup with Chicago. He won Olympic gold at the 2010 and 2014 Games. Toews last played for Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, when they won gold with a 2-1 victory over Team Europe.
Chicago forwards Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad have expressed interest in playing for the United States at upcoming Worlds tournament, but have yet to declare whether or not they’ll play.
