LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: Jonathan Toews #19 of the
Chicago Blackhawks skates in with the puck during a 4-3 Blackhawks win over the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena on March 24, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
If you reach 1000 games in the National Hockey League, you know that you have had a really long career and you know that you had a really great career. Of course, Jonathan Toews is able to say that about his time with the Chicago Blackhawks as he reached 1000 on Thursday.
The Chicago Blackhawks were shut out by the Florida Panthers by a final score of 4-0 so you know that Captain Serious won’t be happy about that but he certainly will always remember his 1000th forever. There has been a lot of success that spanned those 1000 games.
Toews has won multiple awards on an individual level. In addition to those, he has also won the Stanley Cup with Chicago three times and it came in the span of six years. He was the captain for all of them which is incredibly impressive. For the first one, he was the recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
Jonathan Toews missed the entire 2020-21 season due to an illness that wiped out his whole year. He came back this year ready to go and has played okay. He wasn’t the Toews that we became used to over the past decade but he has still meant a lot.
The game was on the road so Toews didn’t get the fanfare that he would have gotten at the United Center but that will come later when they present him with the silver stick. They still have one more on the road with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday so the home game on Sunday should be the day.
Jonathan Toews reached 1000 career games on Thursday night in Florida.
It was really cool to see all of the messages sent to Jonathan Toews on social media as well. He clearly made such a big impact on this organization over the years and so many people are acknowledging it now that he has played in 1000 games. Teammates like Corey Crawford, Patrick Sharp, Brent Seabrook, and Patrick Kane all had nice tributes in one way or another.
Congrats to a tremendous teammate, captain and friend on tonight’s 1,000th game milestone. Proud to have been along for the entire ride with you. pic.twitter.com/IKPE7c6x7t
— Patrick Kane (@88PKane) April 1, 2022
The special messages didn’t stop there either. His parents even had a video featured on the official Chicago Blackhawks Twitter account which was just so cool to see. They are clearly happy for their son as he reached an incredible NHL milestone that so very few get to reach.
Even the Florida Panthers were able to acknowledge Toews for reaching 1000 games. They are a very classy team that has as bright of a future as any team in the NHL. There are a few players on their team right now that could end up having a career like Toews in terms of games played. It would be nice to see.
We know the Hawks wished that they were able to get a big win for their captain on this special night but they just aren’t a good team. Not only are they a good team but they were facing the Panthers who have a claim for being the best in the league. The Stanley Cup is within reach for them.
It is going to be interesting to see what happens with Toews for the rest of his career. He doesn’t seem to be interested in a rebuild and has had some thoughts about moving on to another team but that remains to be seen. For now, the key is to celebrate him for his incredible first 1000 games.
