The decline of Jonathan Toews has gone beyond just a slump, as his point
production has decreased steadily over the past four seasons. His total of 52
points last season was the lowest output of his career, excluding the
lockout-shortened season of 2013. The Chicago Blackhawks will need their
captain to perform at a peak level if they want to make it out of the tough
Central Division this year, and a move to the wing could be just what the
doctor ordered.Years of Hard Hockey Have Caught up to Toews

There was a time when fans took to social media to debate if they would rather
have Toews or Sidney Crosby on their team. A true sign that those days are long
 gone is that Toews did not even make the NHL Network's list of top 20 centers
heading into the new season.

Few players in the NHL have played more games than Toews has since he broke
into the league back in 2007. He has played in 791 regular-season games and 128
 postseason contests so far in his career. He's averaged nearly 20 minutes a
night throughout his career during the regular season and that goes up by a
full minute per game in the playoffs where he draws the opponents' top line
nearly every shift. If you throw in two Olympic tournaments and the 2017 World
Cup of Hockey, it was only a matter of time before all this hockey caught up
with him.

You can chalk up last year's low production to the bad puck luck experienced by
 both Toews and left winger Brandon Saad. As noted earlier in the offseason,
both Saad and Toews dealt with career-low shooting percentages (S%). If they
both had shot closer to their career averages last season, we might have been
talking about a rebound season for the captain and not another year with the
arrow pointing down.Photo: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

The Blackhawks relied far too much on Toews in the faceoff dot last season, as
he took 1,553 of the team's 4,228 draws. Having one center take nearly 37
percent of the team's faceoffs is not exactly healthy. It is easy to see why
Toews was called upon to take so many draws with is 58.0 faceoff-win percentage
 (FO%). The only other players who won more faceoffs than they lost were David
Kampf (53.0 FO% in 549 draws) and Patrick Sharp (55.2 FO% in just 96 draws).
Easing up on faceoffs throughout the course of a long season could work
wonders, but others would need to step up.Another Captain Benefited From a Move
 to the Wing

It is rare to see a veteran like Toews bounce back and produce at a high level
again, but it is not unheard of. Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins has
rebounded nicely more than once he his career. After a down season, at least to
 his standards, in 2014-15 with just 55 points, Bergeron scored 32 goals the
following season. He had another 30-goal season last year after just 53 points
in 2016-17.

Last season, at age 30, Anze Kopitar had a career year for the Los Angeles
Kings. Many of the same things being said about Toews' decline today were being
 said about Kopitar following the 2016-17 season when he scored just 12 goals
and 52 points. He responded with a career-highs in goals (35), assists (57) and
 points (92) while finishing third in Hart Trophy voting. While we cannot count
 on this type of turnaround for Toews, it shouldn't be completely ruled out
either.

Perhaps the Blackhawks should consider moving Toews to the wing this season to
see if it has the same effect on him as it did for Philadelphia Flyers captain
Claude Giroux last season. After scoring 86 points in 2013-14, Giroux's numbers
 dropped every year after and fell to just 58 points in 2016-17.Jason Zucker,
Minnesota Wild and Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers, Nov. 11, 2017 (Amy Irvin
 / The Hockey Writers)

During training camp last September, Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol moved
Giroux to the left wing and had great success playing with the likes of Sean
Couturier, Travis Konecny, and Jakub Voracek. The 30-year-old veteran scored a
career-high 34 goals and 102 points, the first 100-point season of his career.

"There';s a lot of heavy miles put on down deep in the defensive zone," Flyers
 general manager Ron Hextall told NHL.com about Giroux's resurgence last
January. "He is down there a little bit [but] certainly not near as much as
when he played center. I think some of the heavy lifting has been put on
[Couturier] and I think that';s probably helped his energy levels. Maybe he has
 a couple extra productive minutes that he might not have had if he was playing
 center."Blackhawks Have Plenty of Options Down the Middle

There is no guarantee that a move to the wing would spark Toews the way it did
for Giroux last season, but there is no real harm in giving it a shot in the
preseason. The Blackhawks are going to struggle to find consistent offense this
 season beyond the Patrick Kane line, so if playing Toews less down the middle
gets him on the scoresheet more often then you might as well try it out.

The acquisition of Marcus Kruger during the offseason might actually help in
making this transition. He gives head coach Joel Quenneville another veteran
center that he trusts with key defensive zone draws and penalty kills. Even if
Toews does play on the wing, he can jump in to take draws and then drop back to
 the right side. Giroux still took nearly 1,110 faceoffs last year despite
playing on the right side.Artem Anisimov, Chicago Blackhawks, Nov. 9, 2017 (Amy
 Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

So, if Toews does move to the right side, who plays between him and Saad?
Despite all the trade rumors since last February, Artem Anisimov is still on
the roster. Even though the 30-year-old veteran has had his best success with
Kane, Nick Schmaltz appears to be locked in as Kane';s center to start the
season. The duo showed great chemistry at times last year and could form a very
 dangerous line this fall. Anisimov might be better suited to play on the third
 line between two younger players like Alex DeBrincat and/or Dylan Sikura.

Another interesting possibility is playing Victor Ejdsell on the top line. He
did not look that impressive in his six-game stint with the Blackhawks late
last season, but he was great during the Rockford IceHogs'; postseason run,
with seven goals and 12 points in 13 games.

Ejdsell still has a large learning curve when it comes to playing in the NHL,
but skating between a pair of two-way players like Saad and Toews will help
with that.  With the league becoming smaller and smaller, this line would
cause some serious matchup problems because of their size.

There has been no indication that Quenneville and the Blackhawks have even
thought about this scenario, but it would not hurt to at least give it a look
during the exhibition schedule. Toews is the type of unselfish player who would
 seem to be up for whatever it takes to get the team back to the postseason.

"For me, it's part of just recapturing that energy, that motivation, excitement
 and that mindset of a young player who takes nothing for granted, that you had
 in your younger days," he said last month, per NBC Sports Chicago. "But also
carrying the experience with you and understanding the impact of what you say,
what you do, how you carry yourself can impact your teammates, especially the
young guys. For me, it comes down to knowing what to say at the right time. But
 letting my play be the thing that helps me lead by example. No better time
than now to use that experience and that excitement trying to rebound off the
season we had last year."

The post Jonathan Toews: To Wing or Not to Wing? appeared first on The Hockey
Writers.

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