Teuvo Teräväinen has been a fan favorite in Raleigh since he was traded to Carolina from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016. As part of the Finnish Connection, he grew into a crucial piece of the budding Bunch of Jerks.
When Rod Brind’Amour became head coach, he praised his top winger. “He doesn’t get much publicity,” he said after a team practice early in his first season behind the bench. “He doesn’t get a lot of props for what he does. He’s a two-way player and he’s one of the better ones in the league in my opinion. There are a lot of little things that don’t show up on the scoresheet and obviously, he shows up on the scoresheet with the ability he has. He’s a gifted player and certainly a huge part of this team,” Brind’Amour continued.
Now at the end of his seventh season in Carolina Teräväinen has a number of things to get off his mind before training camp opens this fall. Personal news left Turbo justifiably distracted early in the year. Moving deeper and deeper into the regular season it was clear something was holding him back. Approaching the final month of the season the normally reliable member of Carolina’s lineup had become a risk.
There was a decline in his scoring touch and a drop in his defensive performance. Through two playoff games, Turbo’s most memorable moment was when he was the victim of a “Tomahawk” slash. That resulted in him missing the remainder of the first-round series and the entire second-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“I feel like nothing really went my way this year,” Teräväinen said during his final media availability of the season. “I’m trying not to think about it too much and get ready for next season. Just be better.”
I don’t believe anyone thinks this is a long-term slump for one of Carolina’s most significant forwards. Including Carolina’s front office staff. Teräväinen wouldn’t be the first player in team history to play a turbulent season and then put up record numbers the next. Any theories of a trade this offseason are far-fetched and not worth the server space it takes to keep them on the internet. Takes about the twenty-eight-year-old devolving into a subpar player are underdeveloped.
It’s all down to Teuvo Teräväinen’s ability to recover in the offseason. If he can put this season in the past and focus on his workouts to rejoin his team as his former self then last season will be forgotten in history.
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