Jonathan Toews hinted at the end of 2024 that he was considering making a comeback.

The man who captained the Chicago Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup championships last decade has confirmed he is working his way toward returning to the NHL next season.

Toews confirmed to the Athletic’s Mark Lazerus that he was not satisfied with how his career ended in Chicago.

That is why he wants to return.

Toews was a shell of himself toward the end of his storied Chicago career after dealing with major health issues. After taking a hiatus from hockey and seeking alternative treatments to address his battle with long COVID and chronic immune response syndrome, Captain Serious feels ready to get back on the ice.

He confirmed he never officially retired and that the competitive fire still burns.

However, Toews made it clear to Lazerus he is not going to return to the Blackhawks. That door was closed by the organization when the team announced at the end of the 2022-23 season that Toews would not return.

The belief was Connor Bedard was on his way and the organization wanted to give him a chance to develop into a superstar without the shadow of Toews.

Toews agrees that if he came back to the franchise where he is a legend, it would just be taking the focus off of Bedard making this franchise his own much like Toews and Kane did 18 years ago.

It will be interesting to see if Toews can pull off a comeback.

He will be 37 at the end of April. Toews last played a full 82 game season in 2018-19. Although it is not like someone over 35 cannot play in the NHL and be effective.

Nick Foligno officially took over as the team’s captain this season and he is still productive at 37. However, his game has aged nicely.

Before the pandemic, Toews’ game was showing signs of erosion. His goal-scoring went from a career-high 35 in 2018-19 to 18 the next season.

He then opted out of the 2020-21 season after contracting long COVID. When he finally returned to the ice the next season, he proceeded to score just 27 goals and 41 assists over his final two seasons in town.

His game was never going to age well with his ability to mix in tremendous skill but also play a physical game to do all the little things well that his co-legend Patrick Kane could not.

Toews could still provide a contender some value in faceoffs and veteran experience. If he can get his legs back (the main thing he is working on right now) to being able to handle the NHL-grind, he still should be capable of centering a third or fourth line.

While it will be hard to see Toews skate in another sweater and have a reduced role, he has earned the right to dictate how his Hall of Fame career ends.