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Heading into Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals, the big story surrounding Jonathan Toews was whether or not he’d be healthy enough to play after being knocked out of Game 5. As Game 6 ends, and the Chicago Blackhawks once again hoist the Stanley Cup, the narrative will turn to something much larger.
At this point, although he’s just 25 years of age, it’s almost a guarantee that the Blackhawks’ captain is likely going to be headed to the Hall of Fame when he hangs up the skates. Obviously the fact that he’s so young means that that won’t be for several years (hopefully). But he may have already cemented a place for himself in Toronto.
In six years in the league, Toews has already been a part of two championships in the Windy City. He was instrumental in the first one, taking home the Conn Smythe and setting all sorts of franchise records along the way. The second time around, much was made about his scoring drought, but he came up big in the final couple of games of the finals, with five points in the last three games, all Chicago wins.
In 408 games in his career, Toews has a mighty impressive 372 points, including 167 goals. To this point in his career, he also boasts an extremely impressive 57 percent success rate at the faceoff dot.
The 2013 season included a second championship, but it also included a bit of (lesser) hardware for the regular season. Toews was named the Selke Trophy winner for the regular season, finally earning him the title that he has earned over the years as the game’s best two-way player.
He’s not only a member of the Triple Gold Club, an elite group of players that have won a gold medal at the World Championships, a gold medal at the Olympics, and a Stanley Cup, he’s actually the youngest member to have cracked the list. He was named best forward at the Olympics back in 2010, when Canada took home the gold.
That’s a mighty impressive list, and one that only takes his professional career into account. His list of accolades makes him worthy of enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, and he still has a long way to go. He’s already a Chicago icon and one of the greatest athletes in the history of the city.
But there’s more to be done. More goals to score and to set up. More pucks to take away. And, perhaps, more Stanley Cups to be hoisted?
