Chicago Sports Then and Now

Toews may be young but he is a true leader.

Some hockey fans were looking forward to drama and revenge when the Chicago Blackhawks met the Vancouver Canucks for the first time since the Canucks’ Willie Mitchell knocked out Hawks Captain Jonathan Toews with a concussion.

Some may have been disappointed.

After a two-week absence, Toews’ return to the Blackhawks kept them on a winning streak that reached seven as Chicago delivered another kind of message at Vancouver’s GM Place. The 1-0 score left the Canucks and their fans slack-jawed. An overeager goal horn operator even jumped the gun, mistakenly signaling a score for the home side just seconds before the final buzzer.

The only revenge was the result, and the only drama was the battle between two skilled clubs.

The victory gave the Blackhawks sole possession of second place overall in the National Hockey League, and the best winning percentage among all thirty teams.

There has been much talk about the resurgence of the Blackhawks, and more than one pundit predicting a serious run for the Stanley Cup. While the kerfuffle over the Hawks’ salary cap management continues, the critics grudgingly concede the team has the talent to contend.

But if there is any player who represents the revival of Cup aspirations in Chicago, it is Jonathan Toews.

Unlike his mercurial team-mate Kane, there are no questions about Toews’ ego. And unlike seven million dollar d-man Brian Campbell, there are no arguments about his value to the Blackhawks. When the much-rumored contract extension for Jonathan Toews is finally revealed, no one will begrudge him every penny he makes.

Toews may be to the Blackhawks now, what Steve Yzerman once was to the Detroit Red Wings: the player who makes the difference no matter how much or how little he does every game. For like Yzerman—who wore the same number 19—Toews is the heart of his team. And no one argues that Jonathan Toews has, to borrow from the popular phrase, “got a little Captain in him”.

While the Hawks, still the league’s youngest team, dazzled everyone last year with their unexpected emergence, there were questions as to whether they could withstand the pressure of expectations this year. With some of the best clubs in the powerful Western Conference becoming even better, some suggested the Hawks would flutter.

Jonathan Toews’s maturity as the league’s youngest captain, and his ability to transmit that to his team, are considered keys to the Blackhawks’ success. In the six games without him between October 21st and November 9th, they managed only a 3-2-1 record.

Since Toews’ comeback, the Blackhawks are showing that maturity. They rallied from 3-1 deficit to beat the league-leading San Jose Sharks in overtime, the first defeat for the Sharks in ten games. That night, during the “NHL On The Fly” roundup, Wings TV analyst, ex-Red Wings d-man and Cup Champion Larry Murphy paid Toews the ultimate compliment.

“There’s a reason he wears the C, because he provides that leadership. At times he reminds me of Henrik Zetterberg. These are two guys, when they get the puck they always do the right thing.”

His teammates understand exactly what Toews means to them. As veteran center John Madden said, “It was good to get our captain back in the line-up. He brings a presence regardless if he scores or not. He competes so hard, and you can feed off that and it becomes contagious out there.”

Toews was sanguine about his return: “I’m going to go right back in traffic.  It’s something I won’t think about at all. I’m looking to improve on a lot of things I did, but it was a good first game back. It was nice to score a goal, so hopefully I can keep building on that and helping my line mates offensively a little bit more.”

Former Hawk stalwart, Frank Selke trophy recipient and Stanley Cup Champion Troy Murray provides color commentary for the Blackhawks games on WGN Radio Chicago. “Jonathan is a winner,” Murray observes. “You can’t teach someone how to be a winner. It’s just something you have. And you can see that in Toews, because he’s never satisfied.”

Like Toews, Murray played for the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. It may be no coincidence that both these men approach the game with the focus and quiet intensity of warrior chieftains—as they both have worn ‘the Indian Head’ not once, but twice, at parallel stages in their hockey lives. Remarkably, they were both Captains of Canadian national junior teams and led their squads to championships.

Jonathan Toews has some of the same qualities as Wings great captain, Steve Yzerman.

Lest one assumes the praise for Toews is merely Hawk-centric, the accolades come from varied sources. Sports Illustrated’s respected hockey chronicler Michael Farber, in his October 2009 article “Captain Serious”, named for the moniker Toews is tagged with by his playful teammates, summed up his perspective:

“If it’s hijinks you want, forget it. But at 21 Jonathan Toews has the skill, the grit and the determined demeanor to lead the Blackhawks to the Cup. When you are Captain Serious, you leave nothing to chance. When you are called on to perform before a pumped-up crowd in your hometown, you owe it to yourself and your franchise to prepare properly and do the job. Jonathan Toews brings it every day.  Now the 21-year-old is turning his voice to the Blackhawks’ dressing room as the captain of one of the NHL’s most dynamic teams. With Chicago at the precipice of greatness, can another precocious center carry the once woeful Blackhawks to a Cup?”

From a statistical perspective, Toews’ versatility and game-changing abilities are reflected in things other than score sheet. Chicago being a puck possession and puck management team, Toews’ faceoff skill has made its impact. His percentages have been among the league leaders, hovering around sixty per cent.

The effect on the power play and penalty kills has been evident. They had been 3 for 33 during his absence, but shortly after Toews’ return, the Hawks went 2 for 3 on man advantage situations against the L.A. Kings, and the team scored four power play goals in a 7-1 rout of the Calgary Flames. Their penalty kill has become tops in the NHL.

Mike Kiley, the iconoclast who writes the witty and incisive blog “Blackhawks Confidential” for the Chicago Tribune, has been covering Chicago sports for four decades.  He celebrates Toews as a hero worthy of the city’s sports legends, not only for his talent, but for his character.

“Toews is comfort food. He’s fried chicken. He’s popcorn. He’s chocolate cake. Feeling stressed about the Blackhawks’ prospects? Here’s Johnnnny! For a guy who everyone claims doesn’t have much to say, that joy of life moment of Toews wiping the glass behind the net Monday night against Los Angeles with unrestrained vigor can sell untold tickets and earn this city’s respect and enduring love for the way he goes about his business.

“Toews copies Walter Payton’s body language. That tells you the rose-strewn path he is traveling into Chicago history. Just like Payton, Toews exudes ease of effort in everything he does, as well as exuberance, discipline, steely grit and a merry twinkle in the eye that promises innocent mischief when the time is right. Toews has the knack to know what feels right and do it properly, whether he is winning a faceoff, hanging loose in his free time or defining a moment for the masses. No one will make a bigger statement over the next several months in Chicago than Toews. It bears repeating that like Payton, Toews speaks best by how he plays and how he handles the ebb and flow of hockey and its passing parade.”

Hawks General Manager Stan Bowman, who exercises evident restraint in his statements, is unequivocal about Jonathan Toews. After the team made him their first pick in 2006, Bowman said, “Typically, highly-regarded kids are very good offensively but are not very developed defensively.  But Jonathan is the exception. He’s well-rounded, intelligent and has a good hockey sense. Overall, he has those qualities that can’t be taught. You either have them or you don’t—and he’s got them.”

The Chicago Blackhawks affirm their culture as being founded on intensity and pride. Examining the roll call of Captains who have led them, the names Tony Amonte, Doug Gilmour, Chris Chelios, Denis Savard, Dirk Graham, Darryl Sutter, Terry Ruskowski, Keith Magnuson, Pat Stapleton, Stan Mikita, Pierre Pilote, Bill Gadsby, Earl Seibert and Dick Irvin all evoke those emotions. As the 34th Captain in Hawks history, the hopes vested in young Mr. Toews could scarcely be greater.

But whether it’s being asked about his prospects, as a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, of being selected to Canada’s 2010 Olympic Team by Olympic GM Steve Yzerman, the controversial issue of headshots, or about the Blackhawks’ Cup chances, Jonathan Toews keeps a steady hand on the emotional tiller.

Like a good Captain should, one might say. And one might say Toews has more than just a little Captain in him.