Inside look at Winnipeg Jets

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Winnipeg Jets.

The Winnipeg Jets have gotten serious and hope the addition of center Jonathan Toews brings them closer to the Stanley Cup this season.

The 37-year-old Winnipeg native, nicknamed Captain Serious, returns home after not playing in the NHL the past two seasons, signing a one-year contract July 1.

"The first thing is that it's exciting to hear that he feels he's healthy and then to hear that he wants to play, that was an exciting moment there," general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said July 4. "I can't tell you it was smooth sailing to try to get him back (to Winnipeg) -- there were lots of teams that threw their hats in the ring -- but we were confident that we would be someone that he would want to play for."

Toews missed the entire 2020-21 season with Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and battled the effects of long COVID-19 in 2022-23, last playing with the Chicago Blackhawks on April 13, 2023.

"There was a little while where I didn't want to give too much thought to hockey and tried to get it off my mind," Toews said July 4, "but as I got closer and started thinking I can play again, it was hard to see myself wearing any other jersey."

Winnipeg (56-22-4) won the Presidents' Trophy for having the best record in the NHL last season before losing to the Dallas Stars in six games in the Western Conference Second Round.

The Jets believe adding Toews, who helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015, can help take aim at their first Cup title.

"With elite athletes they hold themselves to a different standard and they are wired differently both mentally and physically," Cheveldayoff said. "I don't know that it's a gamble; it's certainly an opportunity. In this game here, athletes that do hold themselves to a different level of accountability, they can do great things."

Toews has 883 points (372 goals, 511 assists) in 1,067 regular-season games and 119 points (45 goals, 74 assists) in 137 Stanley Cup Playoff games through 15 NHL seasons, all with Chicago. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2010 and was voted one of the NHL's 100 Greatest Players at the League's Centennial celebration in 2017, but he has not played an NHL game in more than two years.

"I'm going to try my best to be honest and realistic with myself on what the challenges are," Toews said. "I think a couple of years ago, I missed the shortened season before I went back to Chicago. In a way, since I hit the ice and [have] really been skating a lot these last couple of months, I didn't feel like that much time had gone by.

"I know it's a long time on paper if you're playing hockey. Lots of things change in the League and teams are different, the game is different and all that, but for myself, it all went by in a blink of an eye."

Toews will help make up for the loss of forward Nikolaj Ehlers, who signed a six-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 3.

Winnipeg also signed forward Gustav Nyquist to a one-year contract to boost its offense. The 35-year-old had 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 79 games with the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild last season and is a five-time 20-goal scorer.

Forward Tanner Pearson (6-foot-1, 207 pounds) is another new addition, signing a one-year contract, and will bring size and strength to the lineup. The 33-year-old had 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 78 games for the Vegas Golden Knights last season and won the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2014.

"Pearson is a guy that won a Cup and Nyquist is an experienced guy that two years ago had 75 points, so there's some offensive hopefully to replace [Ehlers]," Jets coach Scott Arniel said. "With the other guys, there's size, there's speed, there's heavy character, physical kind of guys. That's kind of where we were looking with that kind of group coming in."

Toews, Nyquist and Pearson join a talented Winnipeg forward group, including Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Gabriel Vilardi, Nino Niederreiter, Adam Lowry, Vladislav Namestnikov, Cole Perfetti and Alex Iafallo.

"I think day by day this is becoming more real, and it will as we get closer to the season, too," Toews said. "I'm looking forward to it, it's an exciting time and it's another fresh opportunity."