The 2017-2018 Chicago Blackhawks season is going to be a year that Chicagoans will want to forget as soon as it ends. They will miss the playoffs, for the first time since 2008, and a core that has won three Stanley Cups this decade has experienced a massive fall from grace in the past year or so. One of the guys who is getting pointed to, a lot, is team captain Jonathan Toews, the leader of this group, who has been considered a star for many years. The 29-year-old has taken some heat for his lack of scoring this year, which has been an overall problem for the team.

However, despite the criticism, Toews had recently clinched another 20-goal season. In each of his 11 years in the NHL, he has scored 20 or more goals. Teammate Patrick Kane and Alex Ovechkin are the only active players to match that streak. He still has nine more games left to play in (unless they rest him for the last game) and he can still score a few more times. Are his numbers matching of his prime years? No, but they are still respectable.

This year compared to last

Toews enters Tuesday night's game against the Avalanche with 20 goals, 31 assists, and 51 points. The past two seasons he tallied 58 points after scoring 60 or more in five of his first eight seasons (Note that 2013 was a lockout-shortened season).

If he plays in the remaining games this season he can come pretty close to matching his point totals of the last two seasons. If he stays at 20 goals, it will be a career-low, but still, having that many as a career-low puts his sub-par year in perspective.

Regardless of what happens in the remaining few games, this season won't be like his prime years.

From his rookie year until 2015-2016, Toews averaged 28 goals and 63 points a season. His second year in the NHL he scored a career-high 34 goals and in 2010-2011 he recorded a career-high 76 points. This shows the perspective from his current season. On paper, 20 goals and 51 points is not bad, but for a guy like Toews, it is definitely not what people are used to seeing.

It is also worth noting that he scored a number of goals, towards the end of the season, when the Blackhawks were pretty much eliminated and really struggled to score mid-season, so lack of consistency can skew the numbers a little bit.

What is his future like?

One question is often asked, is Toews washed up? It is hard to use that term for a guy who is only 29-years-old and still putting up 20-goal seasons. Though it may be relevant to ask if he will ever reach his peak-years again. While not very old, Toews has played through multiple long playoff runs (128 playoff games), as well as in the Olympics, for several years. On top of that, he has had some concussion and back issues as he has taken a beating or two by bigger and faster players.

Hard to physically keep up after all of that. He has tried new diets and workouts in recent years, but it is hard to know how he is really feeling.

There are other elements that factor into his numbers. The fact that he is not getting more points via assists is because the whole team has struggled at times to score, so it is hard to get assists when others are not scoring. It is also not like Toews has been playing poorly, there have been times where he is just not catching a break. Hitting posts and barely missing, pucks just being deflected at the last second. There have been times when Toews gets a great opportunity and just has not been able to bury it as he expresses clear frustration.

It is hard to think a talent like Toews will just fade away, he will still put up some good numbers for more seasons to come.

Though it may not be the ones he put up from 2008-2015. He is not the fastest and not the most physical and other teams have defended him with speed and physicality better in recent years. Of course, he can surprise people and return to his glory days again, but only time will tell for certain.
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