Staff Report Cards: Jonathan Toews
Spoiler alert, Toews is good.
All situations | 5 on 5 on-ice | EV | 5 on 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
GP | G | A | P | TOI/60 | S/60 | Sh% | PenD | CF% | CF% rel | GF% | GF% rel | Sh% | Sv% | PDO | ZS% | ZS% rel | EVTOI% | PPTOI% | SHTOI% | QoC TOI% | QoT TOI% | |
| Regular Season | 76 | 28 | 40 | 68 | 20.1 | 7.5 | 14.40% | 9 | 59.30% | 5.50% | 59.10% | 4.60% | 9.20% | 91.00% | 100.2 | 63.60% | 11.40% | 30.70% | 61.00% | 30.60% | 30.30% | 31.60% |
| Playoffs | 19 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 19.9 | 4.8 | 27.30% | -2 | 53.20% | 6.60% | 56.00% | 8.60% | 8.60% | 92.90% | 101.4 | 54.40% | 3.00% | 30.80% | 58.90% | 30.00% | 31.60% | 31.10% |
The 2013-14 season ended with a bitter taste in the mouth of Jonathan Toews as he hoped to be presented a cup from Bettman as the lasting image. But Toews played a high level of hockey throughout the year, and he can hang his hat on the fact that he continues to be one of the top players in the NHL.
Regular Season
Toews didn't have any career high watermarks this season, but he was solid throughout. His 68 points trailed only Sharp and Kane and his 44 points at 5v5 put him second behind the Shooter. At evens, he faced the toughest quality of competition in the league at 30.3. He finished top ten in Corsi For % and his 57% faceoff win rate was among the best in the league. Toews drove possession, scored points, played special teams and did everything that we expect him to do on a nightly basis. There was a period in time where he lead an onslaught on the league centering the Red Wedding Line. There were highlights, of course. A hat trick and four point game (one of four on the year for Captain Serious) against the Senators in late October comes to mind.
Playoffs
Toews shined in the postseason. During last year’s cup run, people screamed about Toews needing to do more. This year he did just that. Through the 19 games, his CF% and relative CF% took minimal hits while his quality of competition increased from the regular season. He put meaningful points on the board. His 9 goals, including 4 game winners, lead the Blackhawks on another deep run. While it didn't end the way we wanted it to, the captain was a constant threat all the way through departure.
Future Considerations
Next season, you can count on Toews to suit up and lead this team all year long. There is nothing you can point to and say, "if he doesn’t improve on this, the Hawks are boned" because he is exceptional at everything and will continue to be in 14-15.
The majority of Toews talk this offseason revolves around dollars that won’t kick in until 2015-16. Stan is not going to let him go anywhere, and now it’s become a matter of hashing out term and money. Some were shocked to hear that Toews’ agent started negotiations at $12M, but with the shorter term (8 years max for re-signing players) teams can hand out the AAV is going to go up. This is why you shouldn't compare it to other deals signed before this CBA (Toews v. Crosby high alert). The problem will be not bumping up against the tagging restriction, where you can't have more salary committed to the next season than this season’s cap. If Daydream Nation ends up sticking at $12M per, the Blackhawks will have just under $69 million committed to 15-16. The number should come in below that in the $80-84 (10-10.5 a year) range, but jettisoning a couple dead weight contracts would solve these issues and give Stan some flex room in season. By the end of next week we should get word that Toews is a Blackhawk for a long, long time.
Final Grade : A
