Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews skates, still day-to-day

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews hasn't played since he was placed in the NHL's concussion protocol coming off a win over the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 26.

However, Blackhawks coach Derek King offered good news Friday when he told reporters Toews skated with the team for the first time since that setback ahead of the evening home matchup against the Dallas Stars. 

"I saw [Toews] this morning, I just said, 'Love having you around,'" King said, according to Tracey Myers of the NHL's website. "We need it, we need a guy like that just kind of hanging around and just seeing him in the locker room is good for the guys."

Back on Jan. 28, King expressed that the team "can’t mess around with this stuff" regarding head injuries. The coach reiterated that stance when speaking about Toews' availability heading into the weekend. 

"It's just [based on] how he feels and if he's feeling better," King explained. "Obviously he's not 100 percent, so day by day. But it's nice to see him on the ice."

Per ESPN stats, Toews is now tied for seventh on the Blackhawks with 19 points but is still third with 15 assists recorded across 43 games this season. 

Chicago, meanwhile, sits in seventh place in the Central Division standings with 43 points, nine points back of the sixth-place Winnipeg Jets.