Jonathan Toews is not "satisfied the way things ended in Chicago" and is attempting an NHL comeback, which could be with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It's been a decade since Toews lifted a Stanley Cup but that knowledge and experience doesn't go away. Adding someone of that pedigree would be a huge help to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and then also adding his former teammate Patrick Kane would be the cherry on top.
If Toews comes back to the NHL for next season's training camp, he'll be a 37 year-old who hasn't played in the NHL for two years, so for the team that tried desperately to get Luke Schenn for a third time, this is an obvious move.
Not to be outdone, Patrick Kane had major hip surgery somewhat recently, and is also 36 years old, so adding these two future Hall of Famers would be a big risk, but it may be one that's worth it. This could be the modern-day version of when the Avalanche signed Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, but hopefully this one would end with a championship, instead of a Second Round exit.
Should the Toronto Maple Leafs try to reunite two washed up hall of famers?
The reason why this move could work out well is because how often do you get the opportunity to try to sign two players with six Stanley Cup ring's combined, who probably won't cost you more than $6M combined? Kane is making $4M AAV this year, so he probably won't be offered much more than that, while there's no way anyone is offering Toews more than $2M AAV.
If Toews is going to return to the NHL, he's only going to come to a team where he has a chance to win a Stanley Cup. Not only that, but he's going to want to join a team that needs a centre and the Leafs will need a 2C and 3C next season. With Tavares as a pending UFA, the Leafs are thin at centre next year, so Toews could fit in well as the team's 3C/4C, especially if he's cheap.
As it currently stands, the Leafs top-nine forwards would look something like this next, assuming Matthew Knies re-signs as a RFA: Knies-Matthews-Nylander/McMann-UFA-UFA/Domi-Laughton-Jarnkrok/UFA-Kampf-UFA. With $27M in cap-space, the Leafs could do a lot of damage during free agency and Toews and Kane could help.
The Leafs may have recently added Scott Laughton, but he isn't even a natural centre, nor is he all that good, so Toews would still likely be an upgrade.
The Leafs have added veterans in the past such as Patrick Marleau, Jason Spezza and Joe Thornton and for the most part, they've all been positive experiences. Adding former stars well past their primes is an NHL tradition and as we've learned, if you keep doing the same thing over and over, you will eventually get it right.