Three teams came this close to signing Jonathan Toews!

On Friday, free agent Jonathan Toews confirmed that he has decided to play for the Winnipeg Jets for the upcoming season, and has an agreement in place until he can sign with them once free agency opens on July 1st.

Other teams had expressed interest in Toews, including the Colorado Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs and insider Chris Johnston has revealed how in the end, three teams were in the running to be the landing spot for Toews.

And yes, the Avalanche were in the mix until the end, while the Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens gave Toews a call to see if a signing was possible. This is what Johnston reported on his podcast:

“Colorado were the runners up to Winnipeg for Jonathan Toews; I know Montreal and Toronto called.”

Toews, whose recovery started with a trip to India where he underwent “an Ayurvedic detox called a Panchakarma”, has been training hard to return to the NHL . In 2022-23, he played out the last of an eight-year, $84 million contract he signed with the Blackhawks in 2014 that carried an AAV of $10.5 million, after missing the 2020-21 bubble season while recovering from COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome. He was then informed by general manager Kyle Davidson prior to the team’s final game of the season that he would not be re-signed. In August of 2023, Toews announced that he was stepping away from hockey “to give myself the time and space to fully heal and enjoy life to the fullest once again.”

Now, he gets to make a return back home with the chance to play for the Jets. It was easy to tell how emotional the signing in Winnipeg was for Toews when he posted his reaction on his Instagram page.

“Am I dreaming, or is this real life?

My earliest hockey memories are of watching the Jets, pre ‘96 at the Winnipeg Arena. I remember being glued to my seat in the upper deck, unable to move an inch because the nose bleeds were savagely steep and high, but also because I was immediately mesmerized by the game of hockey.

Never would I have thought that someday I’d skate on the ice down below, my dream of reaching the NHL coming full circle to playing in the very city that raised me.

I’ve never been more proud to be from Winnipeg. Thank you to everyone for the love and support, and to the Jets organization for making another childhood dream come true.”