Teuvo Teravainen hasn't been playing for a roster spot in a long time, but that is where the Chicago Blackhawks are with him right now.
The Chicago Blackhawks have a much deeper team than they have had in a long time. That doesn’t mean that great improvement in the standings is on the horizon, but an organizational improvement from the last few seasons is expected.
Some important additions to the forward group play a huge role in that expectation, as does the development of many of their young players. Nobody is guaranteed a role anymore simply because of their contract or status in the league.
One of the players in a hard spot is forward Teuvo Teravainen. Of course, Teravainen started his career with Chicago before spending a handful of years with the Carolina Hurricanes. Then, he returned to Chicago as a free agent in 2024 and has been a solid player.
The 2025-26 season, however, didn’t go the way that he planned. Despite representing Finland at the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, his NHL numbers weren’t up to his standard.
So far, he is paying for that in training camp. During practice, he has been rotating in and out with other bubble players on the third line. That includes Landon Slaggert and Andrew Mangiapane. Teravainen has more skill than both of them, but does he help the Blackhawks win more?
On Monday, Teravainen was afforded the opportunity to play with the “NHL lineup” in preseason game 2. This match took place at the United Center against the Minnesota Wild. It resulted in a 4-3 win for Chicago in overtime.
Teravainen skated on the top line with Frank Nazar and Roman Kantserov. Unfortunately for Teravainen, the line didn't produce much. Kantserov earned an assist on one of the Bowen Byram goals, but Nazar and Teravainen went pointless.
For Teravainen personally, it wasn't the performance he needed to have to secure a spot in the opening lineup. A goal or an assist would have gone a long way, but that didn't happen. Does this mean that Andrew Mangiapane or Landon Slaggert are going to play over him? Not necessarily, but you can definitely say with confidence that there is more work ahead of him if he wants to be a regular.
After the game, head coach Jeff Blashill was asked what he thought of Teuvo's game on the top line. Blashill never really answered the question; he mostly just complimented Teravainen as a player.
"He's smart; he can settle things down," Blashill said of Teravainen. "He knows how to play defensively; he knows how to play offensively. [He's] a good player. We'll see how the lines all work out as we go through the next few days."
There is a clear lack of commitment to where this player fits in on the team, but Blashill did say that he has confidence in Teravainen. At this point, we'll have to see how the rest of camp/preseason shakes out to determine the status of a guy who's been important to the Blackhawks over the last couple of years.
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