You’d be hard pressed to find a team on the verge of losing more quality NHL talent to 2024 free agency than the Carolina Hurricanes.
It’s an unfamiliar position for a team that’s won a series in six straight postseasons thanks in part to roster continuity. Retaining every key UFA is an impossible ask of newly appointed general manager Eric Tulsky, but if he can re-sign just one them, who should it be?
Four names lead the Canes group of pending free agents in terms of importance and projected salary; Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce on the blueline along with Jake Guentzel and Teuvo Teravainen up front.
You can be sure the first three players are getting a pay bump come July 1st and if there’s bidding wars for their services, history tells us Carolina won’t partake in them.
That leaves Teravainen, the 29-year-old winger who’s spent the better part of a decade with the franchise after coming over in a deal with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016. In fact, he’s the second longest tenured forward on the roster behind Jordan Staal.
In many ways Teravainen is the prototypical Hurricane that plays heads up hockey relying on skill and speed, while being utilized in all situations. There’s no apparent reason for the Hurricanes or his camp to end their partnership.
The Helsinki, Finland native somewhat surprisingly set a career high with 25 goals in 2023-24 to go with 28 assists for a 53 point season. It’s the first time Teravainen’s goal and assist marks have been nearly equal, his playmaking usually takes priority and that’s seen him score one goal for every two assists in previous campaigns.
Notably his shot volume is virtually identical to last season (142 shots in 2022-23 and 144 in 2023-24), and that’s inflated his shooting percentage from 8.3%, which is slightly below average, all the way up to 17.6%. teams should expect regression to the mean next year, and that should translate to 18-22 goals for Teravainen.
50-60 point second-line wingers who play a 200-foot game don’t grow on trees and even in a deep free agent market, Teravainen will be sought after. His expiring deal carries a $5.4-million AAV and when accounting for the rising cap, that’s still a good measurement of his value. As far as term goes, a four or five year deal would be the sweet spot between team and player. Teravainen is poised to be an under the radar option for suitors that miss out on targets like the aforementioned Guentzel, will Carolina be one of them? and if not, who could step up to the plate?
Carolina Hurricanes
This remains the most likely outcome for all the reasons outlined above, Teravainen really is the model Hurricane. However, a roster shakeup is coming one way or another in Carolina and maybe with that comes a new philosophy. After another year of playoff disappointment perhaps Tulsky and head coach Rod Brind’Amour want to change what it means to be a Hurricane. In that instance, moving on from Teravainen would be a hard but understandable decision.
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are oozing with cap space after dealing Pierre-Luc Dubois’ huge $8.5-million AAV to the Washington Capitals last week. To be more precise, they have over $23-million to throw around this summer. Blossoming forward Quinton Byfield is due for an extension and that will take a good chunk out from that pool of money but there will be plenty left over for a potential Teravainen signing. The Kings struggled for offence after losing Gabriel Vilardi and Alex Iafallo in the first Dubois deal (shocker) and Teravainen would arguably be an upgrade on what either of those two brought.
Boston Bruins
Unlike Carolina the Boston Bruins definitely don’t need to change what it means to be a Bruin. But what if that definition evolved? It’s a process already in motion considering the turning of the Bruins guard from greats like Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha. Teravainen is decidedly more finesse based than those examples but there’s no questioning his motor and that’s one of the Bruins pillars of success. Teravainen could move up and down the lineup as needed, similar to Jake DeBrusk; a pending free agent himself.
(Photo: Jenn G / Flickr)
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