👋 Good morning!
As it turns out, there’s a time and a place to bench your elite goaltender in the playoffs.
In an elimination game with your backs against the wall in the Western Conference Finals? Not ideal. The Dallas Stars learned that the hard way immediately after pulling Jake Oettinger in the first period last night.
What if it’s the first round of the playoffs, and you’re down 3-0 after the first period of Game 1? Well, if you have Scott Darling sitting on the bench, you might just end up winning in double overtime to kick off an unbelievable championship journey.
Sorry, Dallas. Not everybody can capture the magic of the 2010s Blackhawks. Not even the 2020s Blackhawks…yet.
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The Return of The Captain
Three-time Stanley Cup champion and former Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is pushing ahead with his plan to make a return to the NHL after a multi-year hiatus.
According to Toews’ agent, Pat Brisson, Toews is “100 percent” committed to making a return to hockey. Brisson told NHL.com: “Johnny is feeling great and we're moving forward.”
Currently a free agent, Toews can begin speaking with teams before free agency officially opens on July 1.
Toews, who became an unrestricted free agent after the 2022-23 season, has not played in an NHL game since April 13, 2023. The 37-year-old missed 28 games that season due to lingering effects of COVID-19 before returning for the final seven games of the season.
Toews missed the entire 2020-21 season due to complications with chronic inflammatory response syndrome. However, he did not miss a single game in the two seasons prior.
Toews’ 1,067 regular season games played rank fifth-most in a Blackhawks uniform, trailing only Brent Seabrook (1,114), Patrick Kane (1,161), Duncan Keith (1,192), and Stan Mikita (1,396).
He became the longest-serving captain in franchise history in 2015, surpassing Pierre Pilote’s seven-season stretch with the “C” on his sweater. When Toews hit free agency in 2023, he’d officially held the role for 15 seasons.
Before we travel too far down this road, don’t get your hopes up for a reunion in free agency.
While Toews won’t have the luxury of being too picky in finding a new home, joining a team that might be on the right side of a rebuild soon won’t exactly appeal to a player in the deep twilight of his career.
After all, he said as much a year before entering free agency as the Blackhawks plunged deep into their rebuild: “At the end of the day, we’re talking about a five-plus-year process, according to Kyle [Davidson]. So that part of it doesn’t sound appealing to me at all.”
Who knows what Toews has left in the tank, and it’ll be awfully weird watching him don another sweater. But his return to the United Center and his first matchup against Patrick Kane will be appointment television.
Maybe this July, the Blackhawks can make sure that all happens on the same night next season…
🚨 NEXT WEEK 🚨
JUST A JOB TO DO: The Cubs announced they’ve signed left-handed reliever Génesis Cabrera to a one-year deal and designated RHP Brooks Kriske for assignment. Cabrera, 28, pitched in just seven games with the Mets this season, all in May, before being released last week.
Cubs fans might remember Cabrera better from his time in St. Louis, where he spent parts of five seasons with the Cardinals. Over seven years, Cabrera’s been a relatively average option out of the bullpen, sporting a 3.88 career ERA, despite an upper-90s fastball.
Kriske, 31, made one scoreless appearance after being brought up from Triple-A Iowa last week. In the event he passes through waivers, I’d assume the Cubs will outright him back to the I-Cubs.
OUT FOR THE SEASON: White Sox reliever Miguel Castro, who’d only appeared in six games with the club, will miss the remainder of the 2025 season after suffering a devastating knee injury in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s win against the Mets.
Castro, 30, appeared to step awkwardly on first base while covering the bag and immediately fell to the ground before being helped up by teammates. Castro briefly limped around the infield before the White Sox’s medical staff reached him and eventually helped him off the field.
ALL-TIME LEADER: Congratulations to Courtney Vandersloot, who became the Sky’s all-time leading scorer in last night’s win against the Dallas Wings. Vandersloot’s 13-point performance leaves her with 3,728 points with the franchise, surpassing her wife, Allie Quigley, who scored 3,723 points while playing with the Sky from 2013 to 2022.
Vandersloot, who spent the first 12 seasons of her career in Chicago, returned to the Sky in the offseason after two years with the New York Liberty. She now holds the franchise records for points, assists and steals.
Surreal day at the office. Thank you to @jeremypiven for stopping by @CHGO_Sports! I was starstruck.
See you at The Vic on June 6th!!!
— #Greg Braggs Jr. (#@GBraggsJr23)
11:44 PM • May 29, 2025
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