AS I SEE IT COLUMN: The incalculable Jonathan Toews Factor©
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While it’s been a long time since the 2.0 version of the Jets signed a Manitoba-born player, did they ever hit the jackpot when they finally did.
Hockey fans across the province are still pinching themselves now that Jonathan Toews is a Winnipeg Jet.
When he was unveiled to the public on July 1st he was introduced as one of the “best players Manitoba has ever produced.”
Wrong.
By any metric, by any hockey standard, Jonathan Toews is one of the best hockey players the world has ever produced, not just Manitoba.
From the World U17 tournament, World Juniors, World Cup, World Championships, Stanley Cup to the Olympics, if there is a global title, trophy or gold medal handed out in hockey, Jonathan has won it. And not as a fringe player. He was a key player on every winning team he has ever played on.
And now that incomparable pedigree will be wearing a Jets jersey. The immeasurable “Jonathan Toews Factor” is exactly that, impossible to quantify. His impact is going to be massive.
ON HIS TEAMMATES
Jonathan’s impact in the dressing room, on the ice during practice, on the ice in pressure-packed situations, on the team bus, on the plane, will be immense and non-stop. His new teammates will learn by watching everything he does on and off the ice, and they will learn by listening to everything he says on the bench or in the dressing room.
ON JETS FANS
The signing of Jonathan Toews is Bobby Hull/Dale Hawerchuk/Teemu Selanne level of excitement. With the notable exception of the Golden Jet, who won a Stanley Cup in Chicago before signing at the corner of Portage and Main, hockey fans in Manitoba have never had the opportunity to cheer for a Bonafide champion. We’ve seen some elite players, but none with championship pedigree that Toews brings to the Jets. Two Olympic gold medals; three Stanley Cups; two World Juniors; a World Championship. The “Jonathan Toews Factor” on the Jets fan base will be immediate and long lasting.
You are going to see a ton of Jets jerseys with Toews on the back; it’s almost a given that ticket sales will increase and the list of corporate sponsors is going to grow, not shrink, with the news of the winningest hockey player in the history of the game being a member of the Jets.
For hockey fans in Manitoba there absolutely is a “pinch me, is this real?” vibe to Toews being on the Jets.
ON THE MEDIA
When a seasoned hockey veteran like Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff got misty eyed introducing Jonathan, it was immediately palpable what kind of impact Toews will have on the local media.
Did you see the picture of the media scrum swarming Toews after the press conference? It looked like the Jets were about to start the Stanley Cup finals or something. You just don’t ever see dozens of media out for a hockey press conference in summer in Manitoba. A trickle maybe, but never a throng.
But you do when a Jonathan Toews is being unveiled.
Yes, he’s been out of the league for two years because of health issues and yes, he’s 37 years old, but there is no way Toews would jeopardize his unsurpassed legacy as one the game’s most accomplished players, unless he is absolutely certain he can still make a difference.
He will. He already has.
The “Jonathan Toews Factor” is here, it’s real and it’s going to be huge.