AS I SEE IT COLUMN: Jonathan Toews’ remarkable story is the balm we need in these turbulent times

The heart-warming, inspiring odyssey of Jonathan Toews’ return to hockey – in his hometown of Winnipeg no less – is exactly the kind of comfort food we need in a world burning with aggression, violence, cruelty and chaos.

It’s also a reminder of what is so unique about the relationship between fans and players and why sports fans have a such deep and profound love of certain players. The three minute standing ovation that Toews received when the Hawks showed his tribute video was the quintessential example of fans adoring a player and wanting to thank him for all the wonderful memories he made in Chicago. The passion was palpable, even through the TV screen. You didn’t have to be in the rink to feel what the fans in the Windy City were feeling.

And for three glorious minutes, we didn’t have to think about American citizens getting executed by rogue masked goons or about a depraved U.S. president threatening to impose devastating 100% tariffs on Canada.

Instead, we got to see – and feel – the love and gratitude that hockey fans in Chicago were feeling toward Jonathan Toews.

If you didn’t watch the game and you missed the incredible outpouring of love from the Blackhawk sports fans, you’re in luck as there are a couple of great videos you can watch online. “Toews on the Return” captures the intense, visceral emotion of Jonathan’s return to Chicago, where he captained the Hawks to three Stanley Cups.

And then there’s “The Incredible Story of Jonathan Toews’ NHL Return,” where you get to see an introspective, philosophical Toews showing his vulnerability as he shares his personal healing journey, one that took him to India. As Toews talks about his treatment – which was an Ayurvedic type of detox treatment known as Panchakarma (which is Sanskrit for “five treatments”) – you see photos of him in remote Indian settings and it is striking to see a multimillionaire athlete having the open-mindedness to seek help using eastern practices, as western medicine wasn’t helping Jonathan deal with his inflammatory and immune system issues.

There isn’t space here to detail what his five treatments were, but they were designed to help with deep detoxification, improved digestion, boosted immunity, stress reduction, and increased vitality.

If you look at the astonishing list of championships and medals that Toews has won in his illustrious, unmatched hockey career – 3 Stanley Cups, 2 Olympic gold medals, world champion, World Cup champion, 2 World Junior gold medals – he is easily the winningest hockey player the sport has ever produced. Not Gretzky, not Lemieux, no Americans, no Russians; no hockey player on earth has won as much as Jonathan has won.

Since the Christmas break, he has been one of the Jets best players, and that’s just what we see on the ice. The stuff we don’t get to see – his leadership at practice, in the gym, in the dressing room, on the bench – is even more important to the Jets organization than his point total on the score sheet.

His critics who were so quick to write him off in the first half of the season, people who somehow thought Jonathan could be away from the game for nearly three years and instantly jump back into the game like he had never been gone, have thankfully gone silent.

It was not a mistake to bring Jonathan Toews home. At the end of his touching interview with Sportsnet, he is asked “what would make you happy at the end of all of this?”

“Winning a Stanley Cup in Winnipeg” Toews says with a huge smile on his face.

When Teemu Selanne returned to Winnipeg, the outpouring of love for the Finnish Flash was raucous and heartwarming. And we only had Teemu for three seasons and no Stanley Cups.

Chicago hockey fans had Jonathan for 15 years and three NHL championship titles. What a beautiful display of affection and gratitude was shown by sports fans in Chicago.