NEWSLETTER
Chicago Blackhawks fans will witness history tonight, when Jonathan Toews skates his 1,000th game in a Blackhawks sweater against the Florida Panthers. Toews will become the seventh player in Blackhawks’ history to eclipse the 1,000 game mark joining Stan Mikita (1,396), Duncan Keith (1,192), Brent Seabrook (1,114), Patrick Kane (1,092), Bobby Hull (1,036), and Eric Nesterenko (1,013). Toews will also become the fourth and final member of the ‘One Goal’ era to join the club and possibly the last member for a very long time.
Alex DeBrincat is the next closest active Blackhawks player, having skated in 353 games for Chicago. DeBrincat will have 368 games at the end of the season (assuming he doesn’t miss a game), and even at a pace of 82 games per season, we wouldn’t see DeBrincat reach 1,000 games until somewhere in the 2029-30 season.
Toews will become the 366th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000 games mark. Drafted third overall by the Blackhawks in the 2006 NHL Draft, Toews is a three-time Stanley Cup champion (2010, 2013, 2015), 2010 Conn Smythe recipient, winner of the Selke Trophy in 2013, and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players as part of the league’s centennial celebration in 2017. The Winnipeg native scored a goal in his NHL debut on Oct. 10, 2007.
Like Patrick Kane’s 1,000th game, Toews will skate his milestone game on the road in Florida tonight, but the Blackhawks will honor Toews on Sunday night at the United Center when the Blackhawks play host to the Arizona Coyotes. Toews will have plenty of family and friends in attendance on Sunday night to commemorate the special night.
“Yeah, family, friends, buddies are coming down,” Toews said. “People who helped me along the way. I think they’ll have a suite at the United Center. It’s a special milestone, for sure. It’s not something I take for granted by any means. I think about a lot of great memories over the years — it’s a moment where you get to stop and look back and appreciate all of that and how far you’ve come and how many great people you’ve met and players you’ve played with and teammates that you made friendships with and on and on.
“When I was a 19-year-old rookie, a lot of people told me how fast it would go by, and I don’t think I believed them as much as I do now.”
We don’t know what the future hold for Jonathan Toews in a Blackhawks sweater, and we’ll have plenty of time to opine in a few weeks when the season wraps. For now, let’s appreciate all of the good that No. 19 has done for this franchise during his 15 years in Chicago.
The Blackhawks beat did a great job of putting together some fantastic stories and podcasts on Toews’ milestone, so let’s take a look at some of the best this afternoon:
• NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis sat down with Toews for a one-on-one about his 1,000 games with the Blackhawks. Roumeliotis and Toews discuss what this milestone means to Toews, the proudest moment of his career, the origin of the Captain Serious nickname, and more:
https://twitter.com/CRoumeliotis/status/1509556597449703429?s=20&t=rrX61YS1sa-Ko_xrffThRg
• Want to know what it was like to play alongside the captain for the last 15 years? Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus spoke to Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Brandon Saad, Alex DeBrincat, Andrew Ladd, and a handful of other former linemates of Toews in Chicago to get their best stories from the past decade-and-a-half with one of the most intense players in the NHL:
“When I finally told him that, like, ‘hey, buddy, I’m just not as good as you, just realize that, I’m doing my best.’”
Viktor Stalberg & other former Jonathan Toews’ linemates share what it’s really like to play with Toews. Story with @MarkLazerus https://t.co/5Xmwd6zbsu— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) March 31, 2022
• The Daily Herald’s John Deitz takes a look back at some memorable moments throughout Toews’ career:
“It’s a special, special milestone for sure.”
Jonathan Toews, who will play in his 1,000th regular season game at Florida tomorrow.
A look back at some memorable moments:https://t.co/VvVLAiWcgd— John Dietz (@johndietzdh) March 31, 2022
• A look back at the last 1,000 games and a look ahead at the celebration planned for Sunday night’s contest with the Arizona Coyotes:
Game 1,000. Tomorrow. #ChicagosCaptain
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 30, 2022
