Jets' Toews: My 'hands are still there, the feet will catch up'

Jonathan Toews feels positive about his progression as he continues to ramp up for his NHL return this fall with the Winnipeg Jets.

"These last five or six months, things have really trended in a direction, since I started skating back in February and March," Toews said Friday. "Those are the moments where I'm like, okay, still got the hands. The hands are still there; the feet will catch up. Things have slowly gotten better since then. Really happy about where I'm at."

Toews officially signed a one-year, bonus-laden contract worth up to $7 million with his hometown team on July 1. The three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Chicago Blackhawks hasn't played since the end of the 2022-23 campaign because of long COVID. He also missed the entire 2020-21 season with chronic immune response syndrome.

Making his comeback in Manitoba became an obvious choice for Toews as the signing process developed.

"It got to a point where I couldn't see myself wearing another jersey," Toews said, according to Winnipeg News' Mike McIntyre.

The 37-year-old is reinvigorated by the opportunity to don the Jets sweater.

"You have these moments throughout your career where some things, I don't wanna say you get jaded, but you get used to it, and you kinda settle in," Toews said. "This is another moment that kinda brings me back to like, it's that new feeling, like you're getting drafted again, you're a young kid."

Despite spending 15 seasons in Chicago and years away from Winnipeg, the city where Toews grew to love the game of hockey still holds a special place for him.

"I think as you grow as a person, you kinda take a little bit with you everywhere you go," Toews said. "But, there are parts of you that will never change. I'll always be a Winnipegger through and through. It's a dream come true to come back and play in front of my friends and family, and be a part of this city once again."