The Chicago Blackhawks are bringing back one of the guys that helped them win one of those Stanley Cups from the dynasty that seems light years ago. Sadly to say it is not Patrick Kane. We are still crossing our fingers for a return from Kane. Teuvo Teravainia was just a young pup from his country of Finland when he made his NHL debut for Chicago when he was 19 years old. Teravainia played three seasons with the Blackhawks before being traded to the Hurricanes in 2016. The Blackhawks bring back the forward now with 11 seasons under his belt in the NHL on a three year deal worth 16.2 million.

Teuvo Teravainia is now 29 years old as he leaves Carolina after 8 seasons as he tallied 138 goals in a Hurricanes uniform. Teravainia was the 18th pick of the NHL draft in 2012 for the Blackhawks. He made his debut in the 2013-14 season. Last year he scored 25 goals and dished out 28 assists for 53 points. Nine of his goals were from the power play. Teravainia in 11 seasons has played in 670 games & 555 of those were in Carolina. Teravainia’s regular season numbers he has scored 155 goals while dishing out 304 assists for 459 points. He has played in 90 playoff games and has scored 23 goals in the post-season while setting up his teammates 27 times for 50 points. For the Blackhawks, Teravainia played in 11 games in the post-season and scored 2 goals with 4 assists earning himself his name etched on the Lord Stanley Cup when the Blackhawks won their 3rd one during that recent dynasty.

I always thought Teuvo Teravainia was going to be that second wave of young talent to skate with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks gave all their core players from that dynasty contract extensions with no-trade clauses. Blackhawks management thought they would all be there for the long haul. The wheels on the bus fell off the Blackhawks championship tour as most of these guys were done. The only exception is Patrick Kane who is still playing solid hockey even coming off off-season hip surgery last year. Guys like Teravainia and Artemi Panarin became expendable for the Blackhawks who were in salary cap space hell. They could not afford them so they were traded away for the future while the long contracts from the cores at the back end of them were not paying off on the ice. In 2016 with only 115 games played in regular season in three seasons Teravainia was traded at the age of 22.

The Blackhawks new general manager Kyle Davidson became lucky and got the winning lotto ticket in last year’s NHL draft. The jackpot gave him a young phenom, Connor Bedard, who was the Rookie of the Year after his first season in the league. Bedard has been compared to the greats like the Oilers’ Connor McDavid. The Blackhawks last week collected several young pieces in the first round of the draft this year. Most of the new draft pieces are guys that will be slated to help this Blackhawks team in a few seasons. The Blackhawks, with some money to spend in the free agency market, thought of a nice piece to help out their future super star bringing in a veteran forward they know and that’s Teuvo Teravainia. It’s like fixing a past mistake that is fixable. Teravainia is only 29 years old so he can help Bedard and this Blackhawks team find its way back to the post-season. I know the dream would have been Patrick Kane. Kane and Bedard sounds like 2 stealth bombers coming at the opponent’s goalies. The Blackhawks will need more than one goal score to fix the holes on this present roster. Rumor is they will be active in the free agent market as Teravainia is just the start. This is a savvy move by the Blackhawks GM. It’s a three year deal so the intention is Teravainia will be around when this franchise finds its way back to the post-season and Bedard is fully developed. Teravainia can create another lethal line for the Blackhawks or could be inserted with Bedard, and the team could have a really awesome first line.