I don't really follow the off-season but people seem very excited about this so I'm quietly optimistic I guess?

Toews is a relatively legendary player with a proven record...who's pushing 40 and hasn't played in about three years. It's a bit of a gamble, but there's a lot of potential, and a one-year contract isn't too risky.

Plus that one year contract has a relatively small (by NHL standards) base salary with bonuses based in games played and overall team performance. It's pretty low risk for the team, and has the potential of increasing ticket and merch sales based on having a hometown hero on the team.