With the Chicago Blackhawks moving in a different direction and veering up for the future, Jonathan Toews is the last player from the dynasty to go. His $10.5 million AAV contract ended after this season and he will likely be looking to go to a place to win his fourth Stanley Cup. His cap hit won’t be nearly what it is and some have even speculated that it could be a league-minimum deal. If this is the case with the flat cap, many playoff contenders will be interested, but three in particular make a lot of sense.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers are trying to shore up their depth without spending a whole lot of money that they don’t have. The feeling is that Nick Bjugstad, Devin Shore, and even Mattias Janmark are all expected to move on, meaning there’s holes to fill. The Oilers will hope to fill a couple internally with Dylan Holloway and Raphael Lavoie, but with so many young players in the bottom-six, another veteran is integral.
This is where Toews comes in. He has heard about how it is in Edmonton from former long-time teammate Duncan Keith when he spent his final season with the team. Similarly to how Keith was such a huge help to Evan Bouchard and others, Toews would be a great help to Holloway, Lavoie, Klim Kostin, and Ryan McLeod. It is believed that Toews is an option to be added as the fourth line center to provide great two-way play, faceoffs, leadership, security, and depth scoring. This would be a major win for the Oilers.
Winnipeg Jets
Toews has been linked to the Winnipeg Jets since before the trade deadline this year. They need help down the middle, are going to be going through some major changes, and the veteran centerman was born right in Winnipeg. If the Jets are interested in bringing him in on a cheaper contract, he will have to play higher up in the lineup than the fourth line as both Mark Scheifele and Pierre-Luc Dubois aren’t expected to be back.
As Connor Hellebuyck is expected to be traded as well, there’s a very likely chance the goaltending will be weaker, which means having a great two-way player like Toews will really help the team. This season he proved he is still capable of scoring, putting up points, and logging a good amount of ice time. He scored 15 goals and 31 points in 53 games while playing close to 18 minutes a game. It is still down from his career average of nearly 20, but for how cheap he is expected to sign for, a great potential addition to end his career in his hometown.
New York Rangers
One of the New York Rangers’ biggest offseason needs is to figure out their bottom-six. While Filip Chytil is the third line center, he is more than capable of playing even higher in the lineup. Whether he does or not, Toews would be a great addition at a low cost to shore up the lack of skill the team had this season.
The team has a lot of young players who could learn a lot from Toews, while getting a boost in production. A bonus would be if Patrick Kane ended up sticking around with the Rangers and both he and Toews reunite for another couple of seasons with Artemi Panarin. Having that Stanley Cup experience would do a lot for a team trying to get over the hump and succeed in the playoffs.
