Has Jonathan Toews officially retired?

Is Jonathan Toews done? 

The long-time Chicago Blackhawks captain announced after the 2022-23 NHL season that he was stepping away from hockey in order to "fully heal and enjoy life to the fullest." 

“My focus is to give myself the time and space to fully heal and enjoy life to the fullest once again,” he posted on Instagram in August, 2023. “Along the way I have met several people who have struggled with health issues pertaining to long COVID, chronic immune response syndrome, and other similar cases that are quite complex. I now recognize the importance of one day sharing the details of my health journey with you all.”

That was over a year ago though and there's been little to no talk of him coming back to the league for the 2024-25 season.

When searching Toews' social media for some sort of indication on his future plans and things get even more confusing. Toews, the man with the nickname 'Captain Serious', has been sharing his exploits surfing on the West Coast and taking in the festivities at Burning Man. That's right... Captain Serious is living his best life at a music festival in the desert.

I've gotta say... I didn't see that one coming.

Todd Welter of BlackhawkUp.com reports that although Toews has officially announced his retirement, it looks less and less likely that he's going to resume his NHL career.

"Maybe an official announcement will never come," Welter says in his latest column. "He seems to be enjoying life away from the spotlight. He probably does have to officially file some sort of retirement paperwork for Hall of Fame eligibility. If it does, it might be a short press release rather than a major gathering and emotional speech."

Personally, I can't see Toews coming back at this point. He's out there living his best life, which doesn't include the slog of an 82 game NHL schedule.