Toews won't let Blackhawks be satisfied

For those fretting about the Blackhawks settling into some sort of comfort zone now that they've won the Stanley Cup, forget it.

Remember who is captain of this team.

He might be only 22, but Jonathan Toews already has established himself as one of the NHL's elite leaders. And Toews has come to training camp insisting he and his teammates won't be resting on what they accomplished last season.

"We always have to keep ourselves getting better and never be satisfied with what we accomplished," Toews said.

"I don't think we'll ever be overconfident, especially in this league and our division and our conference. If you get overconfident it's going to catch up to you pretty quick."

Toews believes the Hawks have plenty of things to keep them motivated to become the league's first repeat champion since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98, first and foremost proving they still have the stuff to win the Stanley Cup despite turning over nearly half the roster.

"As far as I've heard no one is picking us to win this year, and I think that's something that will work in our favor," Toews said. "We know the challenges and the obvious ones that are going to be waiting for us. Everyone wants to talk about the short off-season and the changes, and on and on, those types of things.

"Our No. 1 goal is to get back to the playoffs. As you've seen, it doesn't matter where you finish, one through eight. As long as you make the playoffs you've got a chance, and that's what we're worried about."

Toews has elevated his status among the game's top players and leaders thanks to his 2009-10 season when he helped push the Hawks to the Stanley Cup, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP and was the top forward in the Olympics for Canada's gold medal-winning club.

The Hockey News recently ranked Toews the fifth-best player in the NHL behind only Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Ryan Miller and Pavel Datsyuk.

New Hawks goalie Marty Turco pointed to Toews and his leadership as one of the reasons why he targeted Chicago as a possible destination after becoming a free agent.

"When I was thinking of potential teams to go to, obviously having an opportunity to win was huge, but the next thing was captains," Turco said. "He's a serious young kid who just seems to super-exceed everything that you expect out of young captain.

"He leads by example, he's in tremendous shape, and he's just a gifted athlete. You just want to follow a guy like that. He seems to get it and keeps this team intact."

Turco mentioned the Hawks' other leaders, such as Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp and Brent Seabrook, and has got the same vibe from them as he gets from Toews.

"Just talking to them you don't get the sense that they're satisfied," Turco said.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville sometimes runs out of superlatives to describe Toews.

"At 22, to see what Johnny has accomplished, it's pretty remarkable," Quenneville said. "You could be driving in your car and you hear an interview and you might not know what Johnny looks like and you say, 'That guy sounds like he's 35 years old and has been around forever.

"He really handles himself well and has that approach of saying the right things and doing the right things, being respectful and being mindful of his teammates. It's very unusual at that age a player is that mature.

"I think back when they made him captain here, some people might have questioned the move, but it was bang on."

Toews isn't concerning himself on how he might top what he did last season personally.

"There's a lot of great players and Hall of Famers out there that never got to experience what every guy in our locker room did last year," Toews said. "Playing a professional sport at this level, I think you're competitive and the mind-set is you're never satisfied where you're at.

"Personally, I always want to better myself as a player and improve on things as captain I can do in the locker room and on the ice as well. The better you get as a player, the more positive effect you're going to have on your team."