Jonathan Toews reaches another milestone in his NHL comeback by recording 1st point since 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — Jonathan Toews reached another milestone in his NHL comeback on Monday, recording his first point in nearly 2 1/2 years.

“I guess when you put it that way it’s nice to get the monkey off your back,” Toews said after he and the Winnipeg Jets beat the New York Islanders 5-2.

Toews helped set up Nino Niederreiter's power-play goal in the Jets' third game of the season and picked up a secondary assist. Toews last got on the scoresheet April 14, 2023, in his final game with Chicago before stepping away from hockey because of health issues.

“Felt like I had a few chances to score, too,” Toews said. "Hopefully find a way to get that first goal here, too. I think ultimately you just concentrate on making plays, getting around the net, being more confident when the puck comes to you in those dangerous areas. It’s a numbers game. Just got to keep creating and find ways to find the back of the net.”

Toews, now 37, chose his hometown team to make his return after missing the past two seasons because of the effects of chronic immune response syndrome and long COVID. He said he's feeling good physically while getting up to speed.

“Still finding my way a little bit," Toews said. “It takes time to become second-nature. And then you have to find your game. You’ve got to go out there and relax a little bit. The first couple games I felt like I was getting tired late in shifts, because you’re just over-skating everything and over-working yourself. You’d rather be safe than sorry, and sometimes less is more.”

Toews captained Chicago to the Stanley Cup three times, in 2010, ‘13 and ’15. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP during the franchise's first championship run since 1961 and in 2016 was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league's 100-year history.

“He’s worked hard to come back and feel good, and I think that’s the most important thing is he’s feeling good,” longtime Blackhawks teammate and current Detroit Red Wings winger Patrick Kane said last month. “I’m really happy that he’s back.”

Toews also helped Canada win two Olympic gold medals. Those tournaments and world championships are the only times he and Kane have faced off against each other since breaking in together with the Blackhawks in '07.

Assuming they're healthy, that is set to change on Dec. 31 when Winnipeg visits Detroit. Kane already asked coach Todd McLellan to put him out for the opening faceoff against the former teammate with whom he'll forever be linked.

Asked before camp opened if he thought Toews — nicknamed “Captain Serious” for his low-key demeanor — has mellowed over the years, Kane shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” Kane said. “I’m sure he’s pissed off about something. Someone said something about him, or he’s always got to prove someone wrong. That’s a great thing about Johnny. He’s always out to prove something.”

Toews is proving he still has it, averaging over 17 minutes of ice time as the Jets' second-line center. Coach Scott Arniel used Toews on the penalty kill against the Islanders after forward Cole Koepke got injured blocking a shot, but the staff is trying not to overplay him.

“He’s getting better every day," Arniel said. "That’s what we talked about, him and I, that it wasn’t going to come in one fell swoop. Every day, he’s gotten better and better and I think he’s recognizing just how to kind of play the game with his hockey smarts.

“He does veteran things. He does elite things, whether it’s using his body or his stick or his positioning and you’re just seeing him getting more and more comfortable: getting comfortable with our team and how we play but also his linemates and different people, as well.”

The next task is a long shot bid to make Canada's Olympic team one more time in NHL players' return to the Games in Milan in February. He'd also like to help the Jets win the Cup for the first time, and his teammates love having Toews around.

“It’s the leadership he has, the things he’s done in this league, and there’s nothing that he hasn’t done,” Tanner Pearson said. “It goes a long way. (He) helps us along. He’s very vocal in the room, says the right things.”

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Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews (19) passes the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews (19) skates upice during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews (19) controls the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Winnipeg Jets' Jonathan Toews (19) is introduced prior to NHL hockey game action against the Dallas Stars in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

No Formula 1 driver puts pressure on his rivals quite like Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull star did it to Lewis Hamilton in 2021, winning his first title on the last lap of the season and preventing Hamilton from clinching a record eighth F1 title.

Verstappen came close to winning the title again this year, mounting an incredible late charge to crank up the pressure on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Earlier in the season, the McLaren teammates were contesting the F1 title between themselves.

But Verstappen changed all that.

Heading into Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it had become a three-way battle.

Verstappen did all he could.

He won in Abu Dhabi from pole position for a third straight race win, a season-leading eighth and 71st of a stellar career.

It was not quite enough to overtake Norris, who won his first F1 title by placing third in the race and ending up just two points ahead of Verstappen in the standings.

But it showed why Verstappen commands so much awe.

“This Max guy is pretty hard to beat,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown told broadcaster Sky with a large dose of understatement.

One race earlier, at the Qatar GP, Brown had jokingly compared Verstappen to a horror movie ghoul who keeps resurfacing.

“He's like that guy in a horror movie, that right as you think he's not coming back, he's back,” Brown said in a podcast interview before the Qatar race. “What an unbelievable talent he is. He never makes mistakes. He seizes every opportunity. We've never thought he was out.”

After winning the Dutch GP on Aug. 31, Piastri led Norris by 34 points and was 104 ahead of Verstappen, who back then had won just two races compared to seven for Piastri. Verstappen took advantage of McLaren's errors to barge his way back into contention.

“(When) you lose the championship by two points it looks painful. But on the other hand, if you look from where we were in Zandvoort, more than 100 behind, then it's not too bad," Verstappen said. “I’m very proud of the whole team. We could have also very easily given up at that point.”

Verstappen is already considered among the F1 greats, alongside Hamilton, seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.

Despite his relatively young age, the 28-year-old Dutchman is already third all-time for race wins behind Schumacher (91) and Hamilton (105). Verstappen has 127 podium finishes and 48 pole positions — one area where he is not as clinical as Hamilton (a record 104 poles) was in his prime with Mercedes.

When Norris won the Brazil GP sprint race in early November, he moved 39 points ahead of Verstappen with four races to go.

A few weeks later, Verstappen had dramatically turned the tables and all the pressure was on Norris and Piastri.

“It’s probably fair to say that the world discovered an even more extraordinary Max this season,” Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said. “A bit because of the magnitude of the comeback. A bit because he has been so relaxed.”

Verstappen has been more amiable since becoming a father earlier this year, and has made a concerted effort to reign in his occasionally scathing rants over team radio.

He was all smiles and friendly with Norris when they watched highlights of Sunday's race in the cool-down room.

In the past, bursts of rage or flashes of frustration would get the better of Verstappen.

Less so now.

But one thing that hasn't changed is his intense desire to win and deep self-belief, whatever the odds.

“The fightback has been really fun," Verstappen said. “I don’t see it like losing (the championship).”

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands in action during the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands waves towards the crowd on the podium after the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands in action during the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands celebrates on the podium after winning the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)