TSN | LeBrun confirms mutual interest between Winnipeg Jets & Jonathan Toews but expects comeback is more likely next season

It is no great secret that the Jets have been looking for added centre depth. And this was before their captain Adam Lowry was ruled out of the lineup week-to-week after he sustained an injury on Monday in Utah.

Three weeks ago we heard from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff who said that Winnipegger and three-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Toews, who is 36 and has been out of the NHL the last two seasons, is considering a comeback and one of the teams he was said to be considering was his hometown Jets. While acknowledging that Toews wanted to determine if he had something left in the tank Frank pointed out that he wasn’t certain if the comeback attempt would be for this season or in 2025-26.

Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)

This week in Denver both Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press and Murat Ates of The Athletic Winnipeg sat down for an extensive chat with GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and one of the topics discussed was the longtime Blackhawks captain. You can read those here:

Winnipeg Free Press: Chevy interested in Toews comeback starting with Jets. (Paywall).
The Athletic Winnipeg: Jets’ trade deadline plans, interest in Jonathan Toews. (Paywall)

Which brings us to today when Pierre LeBrun was on Insider Trading with Gino Reda and he was asked about whether we could see Jonathan Toews back this season? LeBrun said:

“It might be a perfect match but next year Gino. My understanding of the situation is Jonathan Toews is not planning a comeback for this season. That this is very much about seeing if he is up to coming back to the NHL next year. But the Jets angle is absolutely real. I believe that not only does Kevin Cheveldayoff tell media members in Winnipeg this week that the Jets would have interest in their hometown player Jonathan Toews but the reality is that interest is mutual. I think Jonathan Toews would absolutely see that as a potential fit but it’s just not going to be this season the way things sound right now. So I think that’s important to point out.”

He went on to say other teams have reached out to Toews agent Pat Brisson.

“Right now as we speak the idea is to try to make a comeback for next season.”

Worth keeping an eye on.