Major update on the Jonathan Toews' trade situation.

We have a major update on the Jonathan Toews trade situation, and it might not be the kind of update that some fans in Chicago were hoping for.

In a stunning announcement, Chicago Blackhawks insider Mark Lazerus has revealed that the Blackhawks captain will not be traded prior to the National Hockey League's trade deadline on March 3rd. The sudden change in outlook from the Blackhawks appears to stem from an illness that appears to have hit Toews pretty hard, one that may even keep him sidelined for the foreseeable future.

According to Lazerus, Toews will need more time to recover from the illness which is quite the statement considering we are still roughly a week and a half away from the deadline.

Toews is of course in the final year of the 8 year deal he signed with the Blackhawks all the way back in 2014 and unfortunately this now means that any hope the Blackhawks had of getting a return for Toews prior to the end of that deal have gone up in smoke.

Update: Toews has now released a statement, attributing his current issues to a battle with "Long Covid."

From Toews:

First of all, thank you to the fans and all those who have shown concern about my absence. I'm still dealing with the symptoms of Long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome.

It has been really challenging to play through these symptoms. In the last few weeks, it has reached the point where I had no choice but to step back and concentrate on getting healthy. I am thankful for the patience and support of my teammates, the coaching staff, and the entire Blackhawks organization.