He’s coming home.
According to several media reports, the Blackhawks have agreed to terms with former first-round pick Teuvo Teräväinen on a three-year deal.
The team confirmed the news later on Monday afternoon:
The initial report from Elliotte Friedman early on Monday was that it came down to the Blackhawks and the New York Rangers for signing Teräväinen. Just a couple of hours later, Chris Johnson confirmed it was the Blackhawks who secured the Finnish winger:
PuckPedia almost immediately had the expected contract details:
This is a sweet homecoming, considering Teräväinen’s past with the Blackhawks organization, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2015 with the team in his rookie season, scoring ten points (4G, 6A) during 18 playoff games. During that run, he became the fourth youngest player to score a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals and the second youngest to have a multi-point game in the Cup Finals since 1990. On June 15, 2016, Teräväinen was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes along with Bryan Bickell in exchange for a 2016 second-round and a 2017 third-round draft pick — a dark day in Blackhawks history.
Blackhawks fans know Teräväinen, who turns 30 in September, as an offensively gifted playmaker who is defensively responsible and can play in all situations, including on the penalty kill. That’s still basically true, although his offense has fluctuated over the last few years: he put up 65 points (22 G, 43 A) in 77 games in 2021-22, then dropped to just 37 points (12 G, 25 A) in 86 games in 2022-23, and then back up to a respectable 53 (25 G, 28 A) in 76 games last season. This is primarily because his role with the Carolina Hurricanes shifted around as they tried to find the best lineup balance and, as a result, Terevainen was tasked with leaning more into the defensive side of his game. And let’s be real, age decline likely played a role as well.
On the Blackhawks, though, Teräväinen will likely be locked into a top-six role, possibly with Connor Bedard, where the Finnish winger’s playmaking abilities could really shine again. Even if he doesn’t play with Bedard, Teräväinen adds an element of finesse to a lineup that it was severely lacking last year and is a solid compliment to the more gritty free-agent signings the Blackhawks have made this summer and last.
This is also a sweet home coming for many fans, considering Teräväinen was always a fan-favorite whose tenure with the Blackhawks was cut short so cruely.