It has been eight years since Teuvo Teräväinen had good reason to wear any Chicago Blackhawks apparel, but he held on to at least one item from his Hawks days.
“Yep, I found the old hat lying around some corner, so figured to put it on,” said Teräväinen, who wore it during his video conference Tuesday with Chicago reporters.
The forward maintained at least some connection to the Hawks even after they traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes on June 15, 2016.
So when his contract with the Hurricanes was up this offseason and the Hawks emerged as one of his suitors, he was “excited.”
“When I heard they might be interested, I was right away very interested,” he said. “I had a few options but I felt like it’s the right time for me right now.”
From the Hawks side, bringing back Teräväinen was one of the highlights among seven new players they signed on the opening day of free agency last week. Forwards Tyler Bertuzzi, Pat Maroon and Craig Smith, defensemen Alec Martinez and TJ Brodie and goaltender Laurent Brossoit also came aboard.
The Hawks have made it an offseason mission to surround Connor Bedard with more talent, and Teräväinen will be one of the wingers in the mix.
“I haven’t seen him play much but of course I’ve seen all the highlights,” Teräväinen said. “Seems like a pretty good player. Young, for sure, but hopefully I can help him get better. That would be cool to play with him.”
Bedard is just one thing about the Hawks that attracted Teräväinen.
“Maybe because I knew the city, I have good memories from there,” he said. “I don’t know, just felt it was a good path for me right now. I can join a young team, hopefully I can help them get back to the playoffs, get back to where the good teams are.”
Teräväinen was once that young player he’ll now be mentoring.
The Hawks drafted him with the 18th pick in 2012, and when the 19-year-old arrived from Finland in 2014, it was current general manager Kyle Davidson — then a hockey operations assistant — who picked him up at O’Hare and chauffeured him around.
“I do remember that,” Teräväinen said. “It’s kind of a funny story right now when he’s the GM and not the driver anymore.
Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson talks about having a “full-circle”moment when he signed Teuvo Teravainen, the same prospect he picked up at O’Hare when Davidson was an assistant:
“I don't even know if he remembers me.” pic.twitter.com/84zPSFPv40
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) July 5, 2024
“I remember I was hanging out with him a little bit. He was driving me around and helping with the small things. I was a young player, I didn’t know anything, I just came from Europe, so it was awesome to have some people to help me out. He seemed like a good guy back then, so it’s not a big surprise where he’s at right now.”
During the Hawks’ Stanley Cup run in 2015, Teräväinen played on the third line with Patrick Sharp and Antoine Vermette. He produced a goal and an assist in the third period of the Hawks’ 2-1 nail-biter over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Cup Final.
Teräväinen played one more season in Chicago, but in the following offseason, then-GM Stan Bowman found himself in a salary-cap quagmire.
Bowman sacrificed Teräväinen in a trade with the Hurricanes in order to get Bryan Bickell’s $4 million cap hit off the books.
“I was a young player at that time, but I knew the situation,” Teräväinen said. “They had to move something to get the cap at the right place. I knew something was happening but I didn’t know it was going to be me.
“It took a couple of days, but then I was excited about Carolina. Kind of the same situation I’m going to now: young team, trying to get better. At that time it was good for me. I got to play bigger minutes and grow as a player. But, yeah, it took a couple of days to get over the shock at that time.”
Teräväinen played eight seasons in Carolina, including playoff appearances the last six seasons.
“I learned to play how they play over there,” he said. “It’s been great years over there. I’m turning 30 now (in September) and I should be older and a better player. Hopefully I can bring a little of everything, experience and all-around play.”
