The Chicago Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup three times in the past five seasons with Jonathon Toews as their captain. Toews seemingly always says the right things and always make the correct decisions on and off the ice.
Toews is the consummate pro, and like Mark Messier and Steve Yzerman, he is the ultimate leader of men in today's NHL.
Toews spends his summers in his hometown of Winnipeg and he joined Hustler & Lawless on TSN 1290 on Wednesday. It didn't take long for the captain of the Hawks to be asked a question about his teammate Patrick Kane.
Ever the straight shooter, Toews did his best to answer the difficult question about his "teammate". Though the host didn't name Kane by name, it's implied that the question is about #88.
“I think you have confidence that things like that will resolve themselves over time. For the time being, you stay together as a team. You support your teammate … uh, teammate, teammates that are maybe going through a rough patch. You know, we saw it last year with some rumors that spread through social media about several guys in the locker room. It’s not the first time we’ve seen situations like that and eventually you deal with it internally and you stay together as a team and you’re confidence as individuals and as a group that everyone kind of stays together. At the end of the day, we always say to each other that what is said and what is done within the locker is the only thing that matters. We don’t let anything going on on the outside affect the way we do our jobs and the way we come to work together as a team. Again, I get a lot of credit because I have the ‘C’ on my sweater and I think we have a great group of guys who understand what it takes to be a leader, what it takes to be part of a good team. Clearly, it’s more than just what happens on the ice. There’s always a lot of things being said and things going on off the ice but no matter what, we do a good job of sticking together.…
Rumors swirled around Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith last winter. Through it all, the Hawks blocked out all the outside distractions and stayed focused as a group on team goals and the task at hand on the ice.
Toews will no doubt be asked many more questions about Kane in the days and weeks to come. Training camp will open on September 17.
Thanks, TSN 1290