Jonathan Toews gets standing ovation in return to Chicago with the Winnipeg Jets

CHICAGO (AP) — Jonathan Toews exhaled and then laughed and shook his head in disbelief as the standing ovation continued for four-plus minutes. “All right, all right,” he said before taking another lap in front of the cheering crowd.

Toews returned to Chicago on Monday night with his hometown Winnipeg Jets, but it was clear that his first NHL city still counts him as one of its own.

Toews waved and patted his heart as he was showered with cheers and chants of “Jonny! Jonny!” during a timeout in the first period. It was his first game at the United Center since he signed with the Jets on July 1.

The 37-year-old center spent his first 15 seasons with the Blackhawks, winning three Stanley Cup titles.

“I tried to do my best to take it all in and really savor it. To really appreciate the love from the fans,” Toews said. "Obviously, I spent some special years here in Chicago and that’s what made playing for the Blackhawks so great. Winning championships and all of that stuff aside, just playing for a sports team in this city and calling this home for as long as I did was just incredible. I can’t thank them enough. It will always be home and has a special place in my heart.”

There was a noticeable buzz when Toews and the Jets took the ice for pregame warmups. There was a big cheer when he was introduced with the starting lineup and once again when he was shown on the videoboard during Canada's national anthem.

The Blackhawks showed a Toews highlight video during a break in the action with 12:23 left in the first. Dotted with No. 19 Toews jerseys and holding posters that read WELCOME BACK 19, the crowd of 19,894 stood and cheered throughout the tribute.

When the video ended, Toews jumped on the ice to acknowledge the ovation, and it just kept going as the rest of the Jets and the Blackhawks looked on.

“It felt like forever. I’m not sure what to do after a while in that situation," Toews said after Winnipeg's 2-0 loss. "The boys kept telling me to do another lap. Pretty special.”

Toews was selected by Chicago with the No. 3 pick in the 2006 draft, one of the first big moments in the team’s rise to the top of the NHL. He was just 20 years old when he became the 34th captain in team history in July 2008.

Toews was part of a core group that helped Chicago put together the best stretch in franchise history, winning the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The Blackhawks also made it to the Western Conference finals in 2014, losing to the Los Angeles Kings in an epic seven-game series.

“I definitely had a lot of will, a lot of energy coming into my career as a young kid here in Chicago, but it was just a perfect storm," Toews said. "We had so many great players that were finding themselves and finding their careers at the same time.”

The Blackhawks celebrated those Stanley Cup teams on Saturday night as part of the festivities surrounding the franchise's centennial season. Toews caught up with a handful of his former teammates on Sunday, and Kris Versteeg and Andrew Shaw sounded the horn before the opening faceoff on Monday night.

Once nicknamed “Captain Serious” — a reputation that faded away as he showed more of his personality over the years — Toews missed the 2020-21 season and part of the 2022-23 season with what he described as symptoms of long COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome.

The Blackhawks announced before their 2023 season finale that it would be Toews' last game with the team, and he was showered with cheers throughout a 5-4 loss to Philadelphia.

“He’s the one teammate I’ve ever had where you go out with him in public and people won’t just say they’re a ‘big fan.’ They’ll almost give an emotional thank you to him,” Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy said. “They’ll literally say, ‘Thank you for making my life better.’ That’s what people will say to him.”

After taking a couple years off, Toews is adjusting to life with Winnipeg in his return to the NHL. He scored in four consecutive games before he was kept off the scoresheet during Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss to Toronto.

"I think as time went along I’ve been able to feel more comfortable and just find my game and settle in and find a role on this team,” he said.

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Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews waves to the crowd during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews greets to the crowd during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews waves to the crowd during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews waves to the crowd during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews warms up before an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews warms up before an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews warms up before an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Hockey fans hold a sign for Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews (19) as he warms up before an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews warms up before an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Winnipeg Jets' Jonathan Toews (19) tries to tip the puck past Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby, right, during second-period NHL hockey game action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An attack on Iraq’s Basra port killed at least one person and forced authorities to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals, officials said Thursday.

Farhan al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, made the announcement in a statement carried by the state-run Iraqi News Agency. Al-Fartousi said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area at the Basra port on the Persian Gulf.

He said it remained unclear if the ship was targeted by a flying or seaborne drone or a missile.

Rescuers recovered one dead body and helped 38 others after the attack.

He said commercial ports in Iraq remained open, though the oil terminals had been shut.

It marked the latest oil infrastructure to be targeted in the Iran war.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran targeted the world’s busiest international airport Wednesday and attacked commercial ships as U.S. and Israeli strikes rocked Tehran, while the United Nations' most powerful body demanded a halt to the Islamic Republic’s strikes on its Gulf neighbors that threaten global oil supplies.

The latest attacks marked an escalation in Iran's campaign aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end the war that started 12 days ago. But there were no signs that the conflict was letting up.

On Thursday, an Iranian attack sparked a major fire in a neighborhood in Bahrain’s Muharraq Island, home to the island kingdom’s international airport. Authorities urged people to stay in their homes and close windows and ventilation openings to avoid exposure to smoke. The airport has jet fuel tanks, and other tanks in the area serve the kingdom’s oil industry.

The first week of war with Iran cost the United States $11.3 billion, according to the Pentagon, which provided the estimate to Congress in a briefing earlier this week, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting. The military reported spending $5 billion on munitions alone in the war's first weekend.

Both sides have dug in, hoping to outlast the other as the conflict upends trade routes, chokes supplies of fuel and fertilizer coming out of the Gulf and threatens air traffic through one of the world’s most-traveled regions.

Iran has targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations and effectively stopped cargo traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all traded oil passes.

In response, the International Energy Agency agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil, the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the war's effects on energy markets. The U.S. planned to release 172 million barrels of oil next week from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to combat steep prices.

The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors.

Among the most recent attacks, four people were wounded after two Iranian drones hit near Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, though flights continued, the Dubai Media Office said. Firefighters extinguished a blaze early Thursday at a luxury apartment tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after an Iranian drone strike.

At Oman’s Port of Salalah, crews battled a blaze at fuel storage tanks there, according to the Oman News Agency.

“The international community is resolute in rejecting these Iranian attacks against sovereign countries that are threatening the stability of the peoples, especially in a region of strategic importance to global economy, energy, security and security of global trade,” said Bahrain’s U.N. ambassador, Jamal Alrowaiei.

The 13-0 vote in the U.N.’s most powerful body reflects Iran’s isolated position as it has aggressively responded to Israeli and U.S. strikes. China and Russia — two Iranian allies — abstained from the vote.

Their U.N. ambassadors called the proposal “extremely unbalanced” in not mentioning the strikes against Tehran that began the war.

Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said it might leave the impression that Iran, “on its own volition and out of malice, conducted an unprovoked attack on Arab states.” Iranian U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the resolution “deliberately ignores the root causes of the current crisis.”

Meanwhile, more attacks in Gulf countries were reported.

Drones were launched toward the cities of Irbil and Sulaymaniyah in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, while in the southern part of the country, an oil vessel flying the Australian flag was struck near Khor Al-Zubair Port, according to two Iraqi navy officials who also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The official said 25 members of the crew were rescued. It was not immediately clear whether any others were missing.

On Thursday, sirens wailed and loud explosions were heard shortly after midnight in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. The Israeli military said it was responding with another “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran.

The fallout across the Middle East widened as Israel also struck what it said were targets connected to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

An Israeli strike hit a car Thursday in Ramlet al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area on the eastern side of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering. Seven people were killed and 21 others were wounded, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for information.

Blasts shook Beirut’s southern suburbs Wednesday, producing fires and plumes of smoke. Israel's military said the strikes were in response to Hezbollah firing dozens of rockets fired simultaneously across northern Israel. It marked some of the heaviest fighting between the two since the war began.

One rocket hit a house near the Israeli town of Karmiel, lightly injuring two people, according to Israeli rescue services.

At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.

The U.N. refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.

Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The U.S. has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.

The United States has pledged to keep the strait open and has led intense airstrikes targeting Iran's navy and the port city of Bandar Abbas. The U.S. military said Tuesday it destroyed 16 Iranian minelayers near the strait.

At least 12 incidents involving vessels around the strait have been confirmed since fighting began, according to two global trackers, and at least seven mariners have been killed.

A projectile hit a Thai cargo ship off the coast of Oman in the strait, setting it ablaze. Authorities are searching for three missing crew members from the Mayuree Naree after 20 were rescued by the Omani navy, according to Thailand’s Marine Department.

This story has been corrected to fix a misspelling of the first name of Bahrain's U.N. ambassador.

Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut. Mascaro reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, also contributed to this report, along with AP journalists around the world.

A man, left, carries the body of his son, Kassem Younis, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral procession in the southern village of Chehabiyeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Flames rise from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Children and adults play on swings on the beach as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A man holds a picture of late Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh beside his coffin as mourners attend the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and civilians killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A mourner holds a poster depicting Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, right, the successor to his late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, as supreme leader, during the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and civilians killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Smoke rises from a building following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Mourners attend the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and some civilians killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji, File)

Rescue workers gather at the site where Israeli airstrikes hit apartments in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People take shelter in an underground metro station as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missile strike, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A man passes in front of a destroyed building that housed a branch of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a non-bank financial institution run by Hezbollah, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People walk past closed shops at the nearly empty traditional main bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Motorbikes drive past a billboard depicting Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, handing the country’s flag to his son and successor Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, right, as the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stands at left, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)