The Blackhawks captain had previously not returned to Chicago since the NHL paused the regular season on March 11.
On Monday afternoon, Chicago Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews joined a few teammates at Fifth Third Arena for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak in mid-March. As part of Phase 2 of the NHL's Return-To-Play Plan, teams are now allowed to hold voluntary practices at their facilities with no more than six players at a time. Patrick Kane, Malcolm Subban, and a couple of other Blackhawks have been regularly practicing together since returning on June 10.
There were some concerns about whether or not Toews would re-join the Hawks due to all the risks with returning to play so soon, but his appearance at the team's practice facility on Monday certainly makes it seem like he's all in. I mean, this is 'Captain Serious' we are talking about.
At the moment, training camps for the NHL's potential 24-team postseason are set to open on Monday, July 13, which is exactly one week from today. The best-of-five play-in rounds are expected to begin on August 1, with the No. 12 Blackhawks facing the No. 5 Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference hub city of... Edmonton, unfortunately. Of course, all dates are tentative and subject to change because of all the potential scenarios that could occur in the next few weeks.
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