Cheveldayoff, an assistant GM in Chicago when Toews and the Blackhawks won the 2010 Stanley Cup, said that when he joined the Jets the following year, he and team co-owner Mark Chipman mused about the possibility of seeing Toews in a Winnipeg jersey one day.

Toews played all 15 of his NHL seasons with Chicago after the Blackhawks selected him in the first round (No. 3) of the 2006 NHL Draft. The forward was named team captain in 2008, and led the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups (2010, 2013, and 2015).