The Chicago Blackhawks spent much of their rebuild waiting for young players to force difficult decisions. They may finally have that problem, and one of the team's highest paid veteran forwards could be the player who gets squeezed.
Teuvo Teravainen suddenly doesn't have an obvious role
Teuvo Teravainen wasn't supposed to be fighting for his place in the lineup when he returned to Chicago two summers ago.
The Blackhawks signed the veteran forward to a three year, $16.2 million contract in 2024, bringing back a familiar face who could provide some badly needed experience alongside a young roster. He delivered 58 points during his first season back in Chicago.
Last year wasn't nearly as productive.
Teravainen finished with 35 points in 71 games, and his place in Chicago's lineup suddenly looks much less secure entering the final year of his contract.
The first day of training camp offered perhaps the clearest indication yet.
Patrick Kane skated alongside Frank Nazar and Roman Kantserov. Tyler Bertuzzi, Anton Frondell and Nick Lardis formed another line. Andrew Mangiapane joined Oliver Moore and Ryan Donato, while Cole Smith, Ryan Greene and Jordan Greenway rounded out the four primary groups.
Teravainen was an extra.
It's September. Jeff Blashill isn't carving his Opening Night lineup into stone after one practice, and Teravainen moved alongside Nazar and Kantserov with Kane sitting out Monday's preseason game.
Still, seeing a $5.4 million veteran without a permanent spot is difficult to ignore.
Blackhawks youngsters are beginning to squeeze veterans
This is ultimately less about Teravainen doing something horribly wrong and more about Chicago finally having enough young talent to create competition.
Kantserov is pushing for a substantial role. Frondell isn't here to spend his entire rookie season watching from the press box. Lardis has given Chicago another young scoring option, while Nazar, Moore and Greene are all part of the organization's future.
Then there is Connor Bedard.
Bedard isn't expected back until November as he continues recovering from shoulder surgery. His absence temporarily creates another opening in Chicago's forward group, but that opening eventually disappears.
Someone will lose minutes when Bedard returns. Someone could lose a spot in the top nine.
Teravainen increasingly looks like one of the veterans who could be affected.
That would have sounded ridiculous when Chicago brought him back in 2024. It doesn't anymore.
Teravainen's contract makes this even more interesting
Teravainen is entering the final season of his contract and can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
That gives the Blackhawks another decision beyond where Blashill puts him in the lineup.
Chicago is no longer assembling a roster simply to surround its prospects with NHL players. The organization has reached the point where those prospects need opportunities, and several of them are beginning to demand them.
Keeping a 32 year old Teravainen around makes plenty of sense if he's playing meaningful minutes and helping Chicago win. Paying him $5.4 million to bounce around the bottom six while younger players pass him on the depth chart would create a very different conversation.
It could eventually make Teravainen an obvious name to watch on the trade market.
There is no reason for Chicago to rush into that decision before the regular season begins. Teravainen remains versatile, experienced and capable of playing throughout the lineup. One strong stretch could quickly settle the issue.
But the Blackhawks wanted their rebuild to eventually reach this stage.
They wanted Nazar, Kantserov, Frondell, Moore and the rest of their young core to make lineup decisions uncomfortable. They wanted established NHL players to have to earn their minutes instead of receiving them by default.
That appears to be happening.
And before the Blackhawks have even played their first regular season game, Teravainen suddenly looks like the veteran with the most to lose.
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