Bertuzzi and Teravainen will turn the Blackhawks biggest weaknesses into strengths

Bringing back Teuvo Teravainen was genius

Alright, we discussed Tyler Bertuzzi, so let’s shift gears and talk more about one of my favorite signings so far of the 2024 offseason - Teuvo Teravainen. If you’ve been a fan for a while, you may remember that Teravainen spent three seasons in Chicago, where he scored just 17 goals and 44 points in 115 games - but he also had 35 points in 78 games in 2015-16 - while playing primarily middle-six minutes. But that hasn’t been the case lately with the Carolina Hurricanes, and that won’t be the case in Chicago. 

Since the 2016-17 season, Teravainen has played top-six minutes, so if you’re doing the math, that’s two players who will be in Chicago’s top-six that weren’t there last season - Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi. Teravainen also scored 25 times and put up 53 total points in 2023-24, so between him and Bertuzzi, that’s 46 goals and 96 total points scored between the two. 

And we all know the Blackhawks needed some scorers, and someone who can help keep the puck in the offensive zone so his team can take chances is exactly what Teravainen and Bertuzzi bring. Also like Bertuzzi, Teravainen’s not bad defensively. He saw just 35 goals go past him at even strength last season, and he’s also valuable on the penalty kill. 

At 5-on-5, Teravainen's on-ice save percentage sat at 92.7 last season, and at even strength, it was a more than respectable 91.5. That said, look for him to keep adding value at both ends of the ice, something that will more than help a team that couldn’t get anything going in any zone.