The Chicago Blackhawks are rebuilding and not everybody is on board. After barely treading water the last couple of years, it came as a surprise to the core players that the team announced publicly that they were rebuilding with guys like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews still having plenty of juice left. Toews has been open about his disappointment. «Bottom line is, I want to win,» Toews told The Athletic. «The expectation for the other leaders on this team and myself is to come ready to training camp every year to be a playoff team. We prepare ourselves to win a Cup for our fans. I've never been told that we were going through a rebuild. That has never been communicated to me, for that matter. A lot of this comes as a shock because it's a completely different direction than we expected.»
Letting Crawford walk has really broken the group's spirit. «It's sad,» Toews told The Athletic. «It's really disappointing. Crow has given so much to this team. I feel he was ready to bring more in the next few years and still be a big part of this group. He had that mindset that he could help this team go deep in the playoffs again, and there's no doubt that he could.»
Regardless of the disappointing changes, the city of Chicago is Toews' home and he's not willing to waive his no move to help Bowman and his rebuild. «I haven't been a part of that conversation,» he said. «This has all happened pretty suddenly, but the answer is no. Chicago's my home, and I want to win here again.»
