What will Teuvo Teravainen's role on Blackhawks look like next season?

The Chicago Blackhawks saw several young players take major steps forward this season, but that growth came at the expense of veteran winger Teuvo Teravainen's role.

Thanks to an uprising in the youth department this season, Teravainen's usage took a dip, often playing bottom-six minutes. Heading into the offseason, the Blackhawks will continue to add scoring depth from the draft and through free agency, making his role even more uncertain.

Teravainen's role depends on how the rookies perform next season

Even though Chicago's roster became more competitive this season, Teravainen still found ways to get more ice time than last year, going from 17:04 to 17:45. Despite the jump, he produced at a much lower rate than he did last season, previously scoring 0.7 points per game before dropping to 0.47. While he did encounter some injury troubles midway through the season, the biggest setback was the linemates he had.

Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill gave Teravainen a shutdown role in the middle-six this year, often juggling the lineup to find something that worked. As a result, Teravainen struggled to find linemates who matched his playstyle. It also didn't help that the success of the youth forced him to take a reduced role to promote their growth.

The cards aren't exactly in Teravainen's favor either, as Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson made it clear that the next few years will be purely focused on youth development. The young guys, such as Nick Lardis, Ryan Greene, and Oliver Moore, played well this season and could very well see more ice time at the expense of veteran minutes, like Teravainen.

While the youth movement could reduce his even-strength role, there are still areas where Teravainen can provide value. We saw this season what he could do on the power play: nearly 54% of his points came on the man advantage. If Blashill gives him more of an offensive role on the power play, Teravainen's overall team impact will increase.

Given the current circumstances and the direction the team is expected to go, Teravainen may find himself in an even more reduced role than he previously had. Davidson didn't shut down the idea of reeling in a superstar forward this offseason, and if he does, Teravainen may be on the move to make way.

Regardless, Teravainen's usage will all depend on whether the youth can replicate or enhance their performance from this season.

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