To my knowledge based on articles, etc., Toews is not a recent convert to healthy eating. IIRC, he was having issues in his rookie year(s) and they finally attributed it to the food he was eating. Believe he cut out gluten and sugar(?) early in his professional career and said it really helped his health and performance. Part of the motivation behind his gardening and recent efforts to get kids to eat healthier foods.

As far as Onnit, he and Keith have been disciples of that group for a couple of years. They both did podcasts this year re: the philosophy of the group, but Toews is much more public with his support, pimping them and their products in interviews and social media. There's all kinds of physical (exercise, supplements, natural drugs, etc.) and mental (suppression of ego, polyamory, etc.) approaches involved in their program and some, I think, could have an effect on anyone's performance if taken too far.

One thing he did repeat in the iTunes podcasts (worth a listen for anyone wondering what is going on with him and/or what Onnit is about), and in couple of recent interviews, was that he was looking for more balance in his life. That, prior to his recent "finding of himself," he was obsessed in an unhealthy fashion with hockey and let it affect his moods and relationships too much. That, at least, explained to me one reason why he may have skipped out on the BH convention and the All Star Game (and don't tell me he was too sick to go - he chose vacation in Mexico instead and who can blame him).

I trust that the Blackhawks nutritionists and trainers have looked into what he is doing and are fine with it. If not, since at least two of their key players are incorporating it into their lives, they may want to.

I am personally more concerned about long-term effects of multiple concussions than anything. Falling down, bobbling or missing dead-on passes, uncharacteristic aggression, etc. all scream possible brain-related issues to me. Are there any stats, advanced or otherwise, that can compare these behaviors, other than fights/PIM, which we know he has had more of these last couple of years?
- pdx2ord

great insight and thanks for sharing, man

So the NHL players promoting ONNIT are Toews, Keith and Ladd...all having off years.
I wonder if the Hawks nutritionist pushes this stuff or if he can get the guys to stop using it.
- waitforawhistle

Oduya is another one. He has been in several of the photos of Toews with one of the company's founders.

There's all kinds of physical (exercise, supplements, natural drugs, etc.) and mental (suppression of ego, polyamory, etc.) approaches involved in their program and some, I think, could have an effect on anyone's performance if taken too far.

One thing he did repeat in the iTunes podcasts (worth a listen for anyone wondering what is going on with him and/or what Onnit is about), and in couple of recent interviews, was that he was looking for more balance in his life. That, prior to his recent "finding of himself," he was obsessed in an unhealthy fashion with hockey and let it affect his moods and relationships too much. That, at least, explained to me one reason why he may have skipped out on the BH convention and the All Star Game (and don't tell me he was too sick to go - he chose vacation in Mexico instead and who can blame him).


- pdx2ord

Yeesh. It's my impression that you don't make NHL hockey superstar money by living a balanced lifestyle. Hockey is life at that level. The trade-off is that you're retired by 40 and have the rest of your life to be balanced and healthy.

I think the most probable cause of his "decline" are in this order:

1. Nagging injury, like someone suggested lower back or shoulder. He looks stiff and slow compared to 2015 Toews. Someone mentioned the bench door incident against the blues. He's a proud competitor, so I have no doubt that he's played through a lot in his career. Like Bergeron, who is my next favourite (current) player after #19.

2. Short on confidence, and thus, creativity. His game is pretty stale, "by the numbers." This might be caused by #1. His turbo ain't spoolin'.

3. The hodge podge of wingers and the defensive slack he has taken up due to roster turnover. All valid and supported by data. They don't explain away his personal game turning into what it is, but they fit when it comes to his production. Watch him on the PK compared to years past. He's not a threat to score.

My take. I'm convinced he'll bounce back and tear it up once he's out of this funk.

I like Motte on the first line. Not as rough-necked as Panik or Hartman, but he's smart and he's got sneaky skills. I'd like to see if they can get some chemistry going. Hartman is fantastic as a 3rd liner.
- kinigitt

Thanks for not mentioning #19's contract, because it has nothing to do with his on ice performance. He played very well in the World Cup, in fact I think he set up Marchand's series winner in Game 2. But what other factors could be in play here?

Did he leave that event with an injury nobody knew about, just like Bergeron did? Bergeron has missed a number of regular season games and has done little offensively either. That event was hard, physical hockey, not a non contact event with the boys for fun.

Duncan Keith probably did the right thing by telling Hockey Canada he wasn't going to play in the WCOH, go get somebody else I'm out. Maybe Toews should have taken that same approach based on wanting more time to himself.

The Flames fans are all over Sean Monahan now - went on an off season diet to gain weight, missed the World Cup due to a back problem after he signed a big contract and has done nothing all year. Now he is a healthy scratch, too slow, head isn't into it according to the fans.

Max Paccioretty doesn't look the same either, wonder what his problem is? Zach Parise same thing, not the same player, is he burned out, cumulative injuries taking their toll?

Nobody plays regular season games at full throttle 82 games a year. Those who try to don't last very long. Toews hasn't looked great so far, but 20 games this year is a very small career sample. I'm with you, more time required to arrive at a conclusion about Toews.

Yeesh. It's my impression that you don't make NHL hockey superstar money by living a balanced lifestyle. Hockey is life at that level. The trade-off is that you're retired by 40 and have the rest of your life to be balanced and healthy.
- kinigitt

Wonder if sacrificing everything becomes harder once you have basically won all the trophies. I'm sure the high of winning is addictive, and that may be why the Core seemingly has such a hard time putting forth 110% every night in the regular season. It's just not exciting enough.

Hey JJ, are we going to start getting some trade rumors (or rumours, for the Canadians) anytime soon? Thanksgiving has come and gone, TVR is almost ready to play again, Blackhawks still haven't found a LW to play with The Captain. Anything out there? Thanks!

DATA:

WJC Gold
3 Cups (as captain)
2 Olympic Golds
Conn Smythe
Selke

To say Toews' leadership is not proven to be pretty much off the charts is just silly. And probably troll-y.

Or ask a guy like Carson Shields or Geoff Waugh (among others) who grew up playing with him (I have).

This isn't data per se, but it speaks for itself.

When Mike Babcock was asked at the 2010 Olympics who his best forward was, his answer was:

"whoever's playing with Toews."

Let that sink in for a minute. Because it speaks volumes to the not-easily quantified things he does.

You've dumped all over Toews on this thread because it felt like someone was "dissing" Sid (which they weren't). But you've kinda gotten out over your skis a bit.

Even in his "off" state, still a helluva hockey player, and he might have a lot more tread on the tire than some imagine.
- John Jaeckel

Toews isn't even in the top 3 JTs in the league.
- Feds91Stammer

Wrong - he is third in the league behind Taveres and Thornton - I can't believe i took time to look this up to disprove a TROLL statement...

Whey is a milk protein, that may have been a big part of the issue right there. I don't react negatively to it, but some do.

If you believe in 7-Day Creation, that Jesus rode a dinosaur, etc., stop reading . . . here.

What I have found, in terms of diet, after literally decades of trying this and that, is this:

Eat the way your body was evolved to thrive.

Think about it, up until about 10,000 years ago, when your ancestors began to settle down in one place and turned more to farming than hunting and gathering—that's what your ancestors did. They hunted and they gathered.

What that basically means is, when they could, they noshed here and there on nuts, mushrooms, maybe an occasional bird's egg and leafy vegetation around them, until they had a kill, and then they gorged on the protein and some fat from wild game.

Our bodies were evolved for literally over a million years to thrive on that diet. And lots of walking, and some occasional strenuous exercise.

So who has the ability to be a professional stalker/hunter of wild game these days? Right.

So what I do is intermittent fasting, I basically don't eat 16 hours a day, and when I do eat I try (try) to eat lean meat (wild or grass fed), green leafy vegetation, nuts, etc.

Admittedly, I eat way too much sugar/simple carbs. But then again, fasting 16 hours a day burns off all my glucose reserves and some fat—every day.

I don't know what Toews does, and I don't know a ton about Onnit beyond it is supposedly a line of "high-end" supplements, and probably not bad for you per se.

But the "royal road" to optimal health is the right kind and the right amount of real food at the right times.

I'm (educated) guessing, endorsements aside, that is how Toews and most of the better conditioned athletes in the NHL eat, too.
- John Jaeckel

Every vertebrate needs 90 essential nutrients. These guys sweat out all there minerals and replace them with none (water ), 2, (Gatorade) 6, (poweraide ). The body needs 90.

In the case of Bickell, M.S. is a nutritional deficiency. He is probably on a low cholesterol diet and sweats out all his other nutrients. He should eat 8 to 10 eggs a day (cooked soft ) and take 90 essential nutrients. The facts are out there.

Every vertebrate needs 90 essential nutrients. These guys sweat out all there minerals and replace them with none (water ), 2, (Gatorade) 6, (poweraide ). The body needs 90.

In the case of Bickell, M.S. is a nutritional deficiency. He is probably on a low cholesterol diet and sweats out all his other nutrients. He should eat 8 to 10 eggs a day (cooked soft ) and take 90 essential nutrients. The facts are out there.
- hocktock

Did Paul Newman eat that many eggs in the movie?

Did Paul Newman eat that many eggs in the movie?
- spanky

Luuuuuucile. Movie was Cool Hand Luke

Did Paul Newman eat that many eggs in the movie?
- spanky

He ate 50. Hard boiled is good for protein not for cholesterol. Cholesterol is good. 75% of the brain is 90% cholesterol. It's good for low t, as well.

JJ, in the age of video scouting do you think the reason for the constant line blending migt have to do with the same positives of keeping lines intact? i.e., chemistry and timing, predictability?

I have seen it with Tarasenko where players pass up scoring chances to force passes to him. Defenders glance over to where Tarasenko is when covering Lehtera when he has the puck and cheat on their positioning accordingly.

Everyone knows about Tarasenko's cutback move so they play him expecting it.

Could this happen to full lines when you know the line is going to okay the puck to certain areas and you just have to cheat to those areas to render them ineffective?

He ate 50. Hard boiled is good for protein not for cholesterol. Cholesterol is good. 75% of the brain is 90% cholesterol. It's good for low t, as well.
- hocktock

A new study found that so called good cholesterol numbers were a by product of health and are not influenced by an increased uptake in said cholesterol. Which is interesting.

He ate 50. Hard boiled is good for protein not for cholesterol. Cholesterol is good. 75% of the brain is 90% cholesterol. It's good for low t, as well.
- hocktock

What we got is a failure to communicate! Wat happened to all our 1,000 or so arm chair coaches that made this site so great? I would really like to know because it is mind boggling.

Hey JJ, are we going to start getting some trade rumors (or rumours, for the Canadians) anytime soon? Thanksgiving has come and gone, TVR is almost ready to play again, Blackhawks still haven't found a LW to play with The Captain. Anything out there? Thanks!
- matt_ahrens

Bottom line is Ladd & Saad = a hell of a lot more production for the CAPTIAN. JJ hit the nail on the head about Panik.My bet is he won't even be on this team next year yet I got a kick out of all the Ducks farting in shallow water last summer anointing him " the next Hossa, Saad, Ladd, ect".
The only thing that could happen now would be a blockbuster deal for a guy like JVR or of like, which is highly unlikely to happen. The only other option is to like some have mentioned, pick one and stick with it of either Hartman or Motte and roll with it. I think JT would be fine with it if Q just left it be. Schmaultz is a center and Hinostroza is just some new found cap space away from being either back in the AHL or playing in one of the elite house leagues in Illinois once JT's wing issue gets resolved.

Looks like he sensed we were talking around the topic - from his Instagram this evening:

jonathantoews For all the young hockey players out there who are trying to find an edge, this book kills it when it comes to training, recovery, nutrition, sleep and even dealing with the bumps and bruises. Thanks to @dk_2_ for recommending this one to me. @bengreenfieldfitness

Pictured is "Beyond Training" by Ben Greenfield, who promises on his Website to train you to be superhuman

Tazer (and apparently Keith) loves his new age-y gurus who also happen to be masterful self-promoters. Just hope they aren't taken in by any modern-day snake oil salesmen pitching anything harmful. I'm sure rich, superstar athletes are prime targets for people promoting health programs.

Looks like the Jets are getting Little back tomorrow (or soon thereafter). My guess is that Burmistrov gets waived, hopefully Stan stays far away from him.

Bottom line is Ladd & Saad = a hell of a lot more production for the CAPTIAN. JJ hit the nail on the head about Panik.My bet is he won't even be on this team next year yet I got a kick out of all the Ducks farting in shallow water last summer anointing him " the next Hossa, Saad, Ladd, ect".
The only thing that could happen now would be a blockbuster deal for a guy like JVR or of like, which is highly unlikely to happen. The only other option is to like some have mentioned, pick one and stick with it of either Hartman or Motte and roll with it. I think JT would be fine with it if Q just left it be. Schmaultz is a center and Hinostroza is just some new found cap space away from being either back in the AHL or playing in one of the elite house leagues in Illinois once JT's wing issue gets resolved.
- wonthecup10

Each of these guys has expiring contracts and play on teams lower in the standings. The Blackhawks would need to go with a 22 person roster and the trading partner would need to keep up to 50% of the salary. Depending on the three players they subtract from the roster, they might be able to afford someone with a contract as high as . I wish they could trade the retained Scuderi salary but I don't think they can. Here is a short list:

Drew Stafford - Winnipeg $4.35m
Chris Thorburn - Winnipeg $1.2m
Thomas Vanek - Detroit $2.6m
Tomas Tatar - Detroit $2.75m
Shane Doan - Arizona $3.9m
Martin Hanzel - Arizona $3.1m (C)
Kris Versteeg - Calgary $950k
Alexandre Burrows - Vancouver - $4.5m

would you want any of them as a rental?

Each of these guys has expiring contracts and play on teams lower in the standings. The Blackhawks would need to go with a 22 person roster and the trading partner would need to keep up to 50% of the salary. Depending on the three players they subtract from the roster, they might be able to afford someone with a contract as high as . I wish they could trade the retained Scuderi salary but I don't think they can. Here is a short list:

Drew Stafford - Winnipeg $4.35m
Chris Thorburn - Winnipeg $1.2m
Thomas Vanek - Detroit $2.6m
Tomas Tatar - Detroit $2.75m
Shane Doan - Arizona $3.9m
Martin Hanzel - Arizona $3.1m (C)
Kris Versteeg - Calgary $950k
Alexandre Burrows - Vancouver - $4.5m

would you want any of them as a rental?
- matt_ahrens

Burrows? You f'n kidding us?

Each of these guys has expiring contracts and play on teams lower in the standings. The Blackhawks would need to go with a 22 person roster and the trading partner would need to keep up to 50% of the salary. Depending on the three players they subtract from the roster, they might be able to afford someone with a contract as high as . I wish they could trade the retained Scuderi salary but I don't think they can. Here is a short list:

Drew Stafford - Winnipeg $4.35m
Chris Thorburn - Winnipeg $1.2m
Thomas Vanek - Detroit $2.6m
Tomas Tatar - Detroit $2.75m
Shane Doan - Arizona $3.9m
Martin Hanzel - Arizona $3.1m (C)
Kris Versteeg - Calgary $950k
Alexandre Burrows - Vancouver - $4.5m

would you want any of them as a rental?
- matt_ahrens

Burrows?????

Each of these guys has expiring contracts and play on teams lower in the standings. The Blackhawks would need to go with a 22 person roster and the trading partner would need to keep up to 50% of the salary. Depending on the three players they subtract from the roster, they might be able to afford someone with a contract as high as . I wish they could trade the retained Scuderi salary but I don't think they can. Here is a short list:

Drew Stafford - Winnipeg $4.35m
Chris Thorburn - Winnipeg $1.2m
Thomas Vanek - Detroit $2.6m
Tomas Tatar - Detroit $2.75m
Shane Doan - Arizona $3.9m
Martin Hanzel - Arizona $3.1m (C)
Kris Versteeg - Calgary $950k
Alexandre Burrows - Vancouver - $4.5m

would you want any of them as a rental?
- matt_ahrens

Maybe Vanek

Thanks for Dano. He's been awesome. Already better than Ladd.

Maybe Vanek
- dahawks8819

Tempting, but not the answer. Frustration awaits any team that signs that cherry picker.

Every vertebrate needs 90 essential nutrients. These guys sweat out all there minerals and replace them with none (water ), 2, (Gatorade) 6, (poweraide ). The body needs 90.

In the case of Bickell, M.S. is a nutritional deficiency. He is probably on a low cholesterol diet and sweats out all his other nutrients. He should eat 8 to 10 eggs a day (cooked soft ) and take 90 essential nutrients. The facts are out there.
- hocktock

MS is not a "nutritional deficiency" atleast not in making some widespread blanket claim like you did. Seriously people, just because someone says it on the internet doesn't make it true. Sure, Vitamin D and B12 may play into it, but to make a claim like that is just stupid. The facts aren't out there and Bickell certainly isn't going to change things by being on a low cholesterol diet all of a sudden.