- Teuvo Teravainen is a healthy scratch for the Blackhawks’ season opener in Vegas
- Jeff Blashill called it a hard decision and says the veteran will play on this road trip
- Read below for Teravainen’s reaction and what it means in a contract year
Teuvo Teravainen will start his contract year in the press box.
The Blackhawks are sitting the 32-year-old winger as a healthy scratch for Tuesday’s season opener against the Golden Knights. The Athletic’s Scott Powers had it first, and Teravainen told him Monday he had a feeling it was coming:
Andrew Mangiapane gets the nod instead. The two had been swapping spots in line rushes, and Teravainen skated as the 13th forward at Monday’s practice.
Head coach Jeff Blashill said the staff didn’t lock in the lineup until late Monday night. He was asked about leaving a veteran with a Stanley Cup ring out of the opener.
“It’s a hard decision because of the fact I think we have more NHL players than we have spots to play them in,” Blashill said. “I’m really not sure who’s the best guy to go in tonight to win the hockey game. Tons of confidence in the guys that are in, but I have confidence if we had chosen Teravainen.”
This won’t be a long stay upstairs, according to the coach. Blashill said Teravainen will play at some point on the three-game trip, which moves on to Utah Thursday and Buffalo Saturday.
“He’ll be a factor in our success this season, for sure,” Blashill said. “The hardest part, when you’re in those shoes, is to maintain your own confidence, and that’s not an easy thing. It’s something he’ll have to work through.”
Teravainen kept his answer short when he talked about sitting out:
His numbers explain a lot of this. Teravainen put up 58 points (15 goals, 43 assists) in all 82 games in his first year back in Chicago. Last season he slipped to 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 75 games, and Blashill has pointed out that when his confidence dips, he tends to stand still with the puck.
The Finn is in the final year of the three-year, $16.2 million deal he signed to come home in July 2024. Chicago drafted him 18th overall in 2012, and he won the Cup with the Hawks in 2015 before an eight-year run in Carolina.
It’s also a sign of how much deeper this lineup has gotten. Patrick Kane is back in the fold, and the Hawks are still waiting on Connor Bedard, who is traveling with the team but isn’t cleared to skate yet after shoulder surgery.
A pending UFA sitting on opening night is a tough look. How quickly Teravainen gets his spot back could decide whether his second stint in Chicago lasts past this season.
