Jonathan Toews has no trouble getting goals early this season

CHICAGO – On this team, even the players who are known so well to Blackhawks fans were a bit of an unknown.

How would a veteran like Jonathan Toews, who has won three Stanley Cups in Chicago, perform on a team that is in the midst of a total rebuild?

Well that question has been answered early, as the captain has enjoyed a tremendous start to his 16th year with the Blackhawks – especially when it comes to finding the back of the net.

Through the first 12 games of the season, Toews already has seven goals on the season. That’s over half the total of goals that the center had during his 71 games in the 2021-2022 season when he found the net 12 times.

While it’s still very early, Toews would be on track to top his career-high in goals for a season of 35, which he got in 82 games during the Blackhawks’ 2018-2019 campaign. That’s one of three times that he’s reached the 30-goal mark, also doing so in 2008-2009 (34 goals) and 2010-2011 (32 goals).

Before Saturday’s loss to the Jets, Toews was on a seven-game points streak, which was the third-longest of his career. That included scoring five of his seven goals on the season with two assists, including the game-winning score against the Kings at the United Center on November 3rd.

This start comes in what very well could be the last season for Toews in a Blackhawks uniform since his contract is set to expire at the end of the season. With the team looking to add more for the future instead of now, the captain could find himself part of a trade before the deadline.

But until then, Toews is doing what he cane to help the Blackhawks during one of his best starts to a season in his career.