Report: Maple Leafs among teams interested in Jonathan Toews’ potential comeback bid

Here is the full report from Seravalli, which he shared in conversation with Andi Petrillo of Amazon Prime Video.

“It’s been almost two calendar years since we’ve seen Jonathan Toews on the ice but I can tell you that there’s no shortage of teams whose interest was piqued over the holidays, when Toews detailed his five-week healing journey in India, as he’s been suffering from chronic inflammatory response disorder. He’s feeling the best he has had in years and hinted in that story that he might want to resume his NHL career. Well, I can tell you that at this point, Jonathan Toews has indeed resumed skating, he’s feeling the best that he has in years. He’s also back down to his playing weight. I’ve been told multiple teams expressed interest in Toews’ potential return to his agent, Pat Brisson from CAA Sports. They’re not entirely sure yet whether Toews might try and resume playing this year, in which case he’ll have to be on a team’s reserve list by the trade deadline on March 7, or if this is something that will wait until next year.

“I’m going to give you three teams to keep an eye on if Jonathan Toews does decide to make a comeback bid: One of them is the Toronto Maple Leafs. A third-line centre has been on Brad Treliving’s wish list all season long. The other one would be the Winnipeg Jets, the hometown team for Jonathan Toews. And the third would be the Colorado Avalanche, in desperate need of another centre. Three true legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, all of whom would be interested to see what the three-time Stanley Cup winner and one of the most clutch players of his generation, still has left in the tank.”

Toews was in steep decline during the latter two seasons of his career and at this point, it remains unclear if he can be an effective NHL option. The 36-year-old boasts a nearly unrivalled resume, with three Stanley Cups, along with a Conn Smythe and Selke Trophy. He was widely considered one of the best faceoff men of his generation and could spell John Tavares in high-leverage situations in the defensive zone — provided he plays at a reasonable facsimile to his 2022-23 campaign.

It’s an interesting conversation for the Maple Leafs, who have been previously linked to Nazem Kadri and Yanni Gourde, as the team looks to pursue secondary scoring options, while Auston Matthews remains on the shelf with a lingering upper-body injury.