There was no shock in the room when Jonathan Toews finally uttered the word “retirement” while standing at a podium in June. For years, everyone had anticipated this. Instead, a peculiar mixture of relief and melancholy lingered, the kind you experience when a protracted, intricate tale finally comes to an end.
Part of the issue was that the illness that dogged the final third of his career never had a neat name. Due to what was eventually identified as Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome—a condition that was brought on, in Toews’ case, by a COVID-19 infection early in 2020—he missed the entire 2020–21 season. Physicians who research it characterize it as a multi-system migratory disorder that travels through the heart, brain, and joints, simulating fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue along the way. A quarter of the population may be genetically predisposed to it, according to one Illinois doctor. The majority of them will never find out. Unfortunately, Toews discovered it.
The symptoms resemble a slow-moving theft. Fog in the brain. Crushing exhaustion. His body was plagued by joint pain. The cruelest twist for a player known as Captain Serious, whose career was built on unrelenting routine, was that his own intensity seemed to exacerbate the situation. He subsequently acknowledged that he had been overdoing everything for years, including self-criticism, recovery regimens, and supplements, grinding himself down while thinking he was strengthening himself. It appears that his body finally voiced its disapproval.
One of the more peculiar medical adventures in contemporary sports ensued. Toews made two trips to India for month-long Panchakarma detox programs after Chicago allowed his contract to expire in 2023. The specifics—ghee tonics, harsh massages, and inducing vomiting with liters of milk and salt water—became momentarily well-known online. Reddit had a blast. However, it’s difficult to ignore the more subdued reality that lies beneath the ridicule: this is how desperation appears when traditional medicine is unable to provide solutions. Many long-term COVID patients recognized themselves in that desperation, and some researchers observed from clinics in Toronto with an open mind.
The odd thing is that, at least initially, it appeared to be effective. After two and a half years away, Toews returned to the rink at Canada Life Centre in October 2025 after signing a contract with his hometown Winnipeg Jets in July 2025. He talked about playing with a lightness he had lost in his twenties and feeling like a child again. The same thing was said by his coach. It was one of the best hockey stories in years for a few months.
However, dealing with a multi-system illness while playing professional hockey is a negotiation in which the body typically prevails. Toews concluded a sixteen-year career with three Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and a spot among the NHL’s hundred greatest players when he announced his permanent retirement on June 19, 2026. It seems like his legacy now extends beyond awards. Millions of Canadians have long-term, mostly undetectable COVID-19. Toews briefly made the invisible well-known. It’s unclear if medicine will catch up to individuals like him. That bigger story is still ongoing, but his career is over.
