SUNRISE, FLA. — It took 14 years, 5 months and 22 days — or 5,287 days — for Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews to get to this moment in his career, but it arrived Thursday against the Florida Panthers: 1,000 regular-season games in the books.
Toews scored his first goal in the first period of that first NHL game on Oct. 10, 2007, a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks.
Since then, he has won three Stanley Cups and added the 2009-10 Conn Smythe and 2012-13 Selke trophies to his mantle.
Toews is eight games away from matching Bob Murray’s 1,008 on the franchise list. Toews is sixth in franchise history in points (844) and goals (355).
He has had his share of adversity, too, including long stretches in 2011-12 and this season that were lost to concussions as well as last season’s bout with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome.
And his team has fallen on hard times in recent years, making one postseason appearance since the 2016-17 season.
But that’s all a postscript as Toews took the ice at FLA Live Arena on Thursday and hit the career milestone.
During a break, the hosts showed Toews on the video board, and he waved as he received cheers from the crowd.
“It’s huge,” Toews said earlier this month about the achievement. “I’m extremely thankful to hit that mark. I definitely owe a lot to all the teammates I’ve had over the years.
“I’m not the kind of guy that likes the whole show during the season. I like to stay with what works and keep it simple, but it’ll be nice to have some friends and family in town and really enjoy that. Just kind of show everyone that’s been around me my appreciation for their support and help me get there, I guess.”
Toews’ big night didn’t seem provide much of a spark for the Hawks, who lost 4-0 to the Panthers.
Aleksander Barkov waltzed in unchallenged and scored the opening goal in the first period. In the second, Ryan Lomberg blew past Calvin de Haan on a rush and snapped a shot past Collin Delia.
Gustav Forsling sniped from the high slot to make it 3-0, a goal that was upheld after Derek King challenged for goaltender interference.
Toews had four shots in the game, including back-to-back in the second from in front of the net, but Sergei Bobrovsky denied him. Patrick Kane couldn’t find a vulnerability against Bobrovsky all night despite seven shots on goal.
Toews was penalized for slashing in the third period, putting the Hawks in a five-on-three situation, and Barkov capitalized by scoring his second goal of the night.
There haven’t been a lot of opportunities for the Hawks to celebrate after games this season, but they haven’t lacked for milestones to honor.
Kane passed Bobby Hull for the second-most points in franchise history, and before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild, Marc-André Fleury celebrated 500 wins.
“There’s so many,” said before the game. “Patrick Kane gets a milestone every time he touches the puck. But it’s nice to see Fleury get his couple that he got. ... Now this. I really think this 1,000-game thing for Toews is amazing.
“You’re hearing about it more, but there’s still not a whole slew of guys that are having 1,000 games. To get to that milestone, you’ve got to be pretty good. It’s hard to get there. Hats off to him. He’s had some ups and downs these last couple years, and he’s got his 1,000 games. It’s quite an accomplishment.”
Some of Toews’ teammates have paid tribute in the weeks leading up to the milestone.
“It’s a great accomplishment for any player, but especially Toews, he’s been in this league for X-amount of years for a reason,” Boris Katchouk said Thursday. “He’s ... a 200-foot player. I try to model my game after him because he’s an exceptional player.”
Last week Alex DeBrincat said Toews “does a lot of things on the ice that really help the team, but off the ice he’s a guy who really has control of the locker room, and I think new guys come in and he makes them feel comfortable right away. ... When you’re coming to a new team and obviously a whole new situation, you’re nervous about being in the NHL, and having a guy like him who’s done it all to be able to grab you and make you feel comfortable, that’s a huge part of his leadership.”
Kirby Dach said earlier this month that Toews has been a good mentor.
“Obviously last year going through all the stuff he went through, it’s really good to see him back this year and to be around him again,” Dach said. “He’s super happy, outgoing, likes to do things. It’s good as a young guy to learn from somebody like that who’s been here for 15 years and still comes to the rink every day with the same passion, the same love for it. He’s been a tremendous help to my life personally.”
