It could be two or three more weeks before Jonathan Toews makes a decision on what his playing status will be for next season.
However that plays out, perhaps it doesn’t have to be a “one and done” relationship with his hometown Winnipeg Jets.
A week ago Friday, as the Jets cleaned out their dressing room stalls, Toews spent time with many of his teammates chatting, hugging and signing a few mementos.
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Even though the veteran centre, who turns 38 in a couple of days, told a scrum of reporters it could take up to a month for him to make a decision, some of my media colleagues read those conversations, embraces and exchanges of autographed items as signs that Toews has already made his decision to call it a career.
I’m in the camp that it was and still might be a 50-50 decision. But I’ve been wrong many, many times before.
However, if the man known as Captain Serious during his highly successful career in Chicago does decide his time as a player has come to an end, is there an opportunity to embark on a new hockey path? Perhaps he could remain within the Jets as a member of the hockey operations department.
We have seen the rise from retired star player to respected general manager with the likes of Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Jim Nill and Bill Guerin, just to name a few current executives.
Toews could begin building a foundation by helping develop the Jets’ young players, perhaps scouting, learning the business end of the game, etc. — exposing himself to as many layers of running a successful front office as possible, while steadily ascending the organizational ladder.
Toews wasn’t able to contribute nearly to the extent he or the hockey club would have wanted on the ice this past season. But there could be an opportunity for the future first ballot Hockey Hall of Famer to make a significant impact for the franchise off the ice — if that is a vision shared by Jonathan Toews, and the Winnipeg Jets.
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