Report: Toews voted against return-to-play plan, CBA extension

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews opposed the return-to-play plan and CBA extension ratified by the NHL and NHLPA in early July.

The Blackhawks and the Carolina Hurricanes were the only teams two to vote against the league's proposal when the NHLPA's executive board took its most recent tally, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said on "31 Thoughts: The Podcast" on July 16.

Toews is the Blackhawks' player representative, and Jordan Martinook serves the same role for the Hurricanes.

"I have been told by many, many, many people that one of the most vocal players during the process of coming back to play was Jonathan Toews, that he asked a lot of questions," Friedman said.

"And other players said ... he was great, he asked relevant questions, (and) he challenged whether or not this was really safe to play. They said that when you talk about star players standing up for other people, he did that."

The Hurricanes and the Tampa Bay Lightning were the only two teams to oppose the NHL's 24-team playoff in an earlier vote in May.

The NHL and NHLPA ratified the deal to resume the 2019-20 season on July 10.

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