The Chicago Blackhawks are getting a whole bunch of reinforcements tonight. Jonathan Toews, Tyler Johnson, Calvin de Haan, and Riley Stillman will all return, as Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago reports. Henrik Borgstrom and Erik Gustafsson will sit, while Alec Regula was returned to the minor leagues earlier today.
While de Haan wasn’t technically on injured reserve, the other three were, with Johnson not playing since the end of October. The 31-year-old forward underwent the same artificial disk replacement surgery that Jack Eichel did, and will be playing in just his ninth game of the season. Toews meanwhile has been out since January dealing with a concussion issue. His return will hopefully come with a resurgence offensively, as the Blackhawks captain was able to score just four times through his first 43 games.
That has been a huge part of why the team has struggled this season, and the future for Toews is now very murky. He missed all of 2020-21 with Chronic Immune Response Syndrome, and now seems a shell of the player that was an annual Selke and Hart trophy candidate. With new Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson indicating that a rebuild is coming for Chicago, and Toews having just one year left on his contract, it’s hard to envision him playing there for many more seasons unless he can really find his game at some point. Only 33, (34 in April) getting back on the ice tonight will be a good start.
In de Haan specifically, his return represents a very different situation. The 30-year-old defenseman is on an expiring contract and could be a nice trade deadline piece for the Blackhawks if he can show he’s healthy and relatively effective over the next few weeks. In 48 games this season he has just five points, but a physical defenseman who can play both sides and penalty kill will always be sought-after at the deadline.
Stillman meanwhile is potentially a piece for the future, as the 23-year-old signed a three-year $4.05MM contract extension last spring. In 28 games this season he actually has ten points, despite averaging fewer than 15 minutes a night. If players like de Haan are moved out at some point, the opportunity for a player like Stillman should be increased.
Toews = most overrated player, potentially in hockey history. The fact that he made the top 100 players OF ALL TIME a few years ago is pretty silly. Are we gonna put Pat Maroon on that list next because he won three cups in a row?
Anze Kopitar, on the other hand, might be the most underrated. Vastly superior career by almost any metric you want to use, two Stanley Cups of his own, and, most telling, he never has played consistently with anyone remotely as good as Kane or Hossa.
To me Toews is not nearly the most overrated. He has always been strong defensively, with faceoffs, and driving possession. Plus, he always had timely scoring when it was needed. While he has been a shell of his former self these past few years, he was a huge part of all 3 championships in Chicago and the leader in the locker room.
I would say they are closer to each other than you say except for a few things. Toews 986gp, .85 points per game, plus 182, 214 PPP and 67 GWG. Kopitar 1184 gp, .89 points per game, plus 62, 374 PPP and 59 GWG.(per NHL.com) These are just a few things but the way you speak of Kopitar puts him into the overrated category. I have not looked but I would bet defensive metrics would put Toews above Kopitar, I could be wrong. I agree that the top 100 players list was missing someone that could have taken Toews’ place but I would say that is Joe Thornton over Kopitar. I don’t care that Thornton doesn’t have a cup. Also, Toews is rarely on Kane’s line. Toews and Hossa had a different LW most years.