{"id":4556,"date":"2024-11-27T12:15:55","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T12:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=4556"},"modified":"2024-11-27T12:15:55","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T12:15:55","slug":"breaking-news-is-teuvo-teravainen-a-victim-of-his-own-versatility-away-from-connor-bedard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=4556","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS : Is Teuvo Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen a victim of his own versatility away from Connor Bedard?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"SEATTLE,<\/p>\n

He could do it, you know. He could think offense-first. He could prioritize his own counting stats. He could cheat a bit, linger a little higher, blow the zone early, cherry-pick. He\u2019s got the skills, the anticipation, the vision, the hands to pull it off. Sixty points? Seventy points? Eighty?<\/p>\n

Teuvo Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen could do that.<\/p>\n

Well, he theoretically<\/i> could do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, when I\u2019m not scoring a lot, I\u2019ll go into the game and I\u2019ll be like, \u2018Today, I\u2019ll just be the guy who plays a lot of offense and doesn\u2019t even worry about defense,\u2019\u201d Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen said. \u201cBut then I step on the ice and I\u2019m like, \u2018OK, I\u2019ll just play defense, too.\u2019 I can\u2019t change who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen is, is who he\u2019s always been \u2014 the well-rounded pro, the 200-foot player, the Finnish army knife who could slot in at center or wing, on the top line or the checking line, on the power play or the penalty kill. Even as a wide-eyed rookie in a key role in the Blackhawks\u2019 run to the 2015 Stanley Cup, Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen played a surprisingly savvy two-way game. It\u2019s why Joel Quenneville \u2014 who always cast a wary eye toward young players who viewed defense as a secondary priority \u2014 played him in all but one of Chicago\u2019s games in the second, third and fourth rounds that spring.<\/p>\n

Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen played the game the right way at 20 years old. And he plays the game the right way at 30 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even remember when I was a young player,\u201d Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen said with a chuckle. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to play defense when you\u2019re just coming into the league, for sure, because the guys are so strong and so skilled. But it\u2019s the Finnish style, maybe. We try to be pretty responsible and don\u2019t try to cheat the game too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

But has Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen become a victim of his versatility? The veteran winger was lured to Chicago from Carolina with the potential \u2014 if not outright promise \u2014 of playing on Connor Bedard\u2019s wing for the next three seasons, of being in a permanent top-six role and serving as a mentor to help mold Bedard into a more complete player.<\/p>\n

But since the start of November, Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen has played just 23 minutes with Bedard at five-on-five. He\u2019s played more with Joey Anderson than he has with Bedard. Luke Richardson continues to flail for line combinations that will result in an offensive awakening for the Blackhawks, changing the entire lineup nearly every game. He\u2019s scratched Taylor Hall. He\u2019s scratched Philipp Kurashev. He\u2019s had Lukas Reichel on the top line as a winger and on the fourth line as a center. He\u2019s had Jason Dickinson as a shutdown third-line center and as the No. 1 center, bumping Bedard to the wing. He\u2019s moved Nick Foligno all around the lineup. He\u2019s used Ryan Donato everywhere, too.<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s had Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen in a bottom-six checking role far more than he\u2019s had him in a top-six offensive role. Wednesday against the Dallas Stars, Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen will start on the second line with Hall and Donato. Who knows where he\u2019ll be by the game\u2019s end? Or by Friday\u2019s matinee in Minnesota?<\/p>\n

\n

\"Is<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cRight now, figuring out the lines, that\u2019s what we do \u2014 we use him all over,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cWe really respect his hockey sense. He can play in any situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a blessing and a curse for Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen, who\u2019s been battling his confidence issues as the points have dried up. He had three goals and four assists in the first five games of the season, on the top line and the top power-play unit (five of those points came on the power play). He\u2019s had just two goals and one assist in the 16 games since. Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen\u2019s used to scoring \u2014 he\u2019s been a productive player throughout his career, posting at least 21 goals in four of his eight seasons with the Hurricanes, including a career-high 25 goals last season and a 76-point campaign back in 2018-19.<\/p>\n

Those goals have been harder to come by in a more defensive role. On top of that, while Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen\u2019s defensive numbers are still solid relative to his teammates, they\u2019re the worst of his career \u2014 an obvious product of leaving one of the best possession teams in the league for one of the worst. In fact, it\u2019s all been worse for Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen since Richardson detached him from Bedard. With Bedard, he has a 51.74-percent expected goals share and the Blackhawks have been outscored just 7-6. Without Bedard, he has a ghastly 36.93-percent xG share and the Blackhawks have been outscored 5-1.<\/p>\n

So while Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen can<\/i> play a checking role, it\u2019s clearly not what\u2019s best for him \u2014 or for the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should just get him more ice time,\u201d Richardson said of Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen\u2019s versatility. \u201cIt\u2019s up to me to make sure if he\u2019s really going that game, to get him in all situations. If someone else is maybe not going a little bit, then he\u2019s a guy you can pop anywhere. He\u2019s so smart. He can play with anybody and do anything on both sides of the puck. So I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to hurt him. I don\u2019t think he gets lost. I don\u2019t think you can forget about him. You almost have to be careful you don\u2019t try to give him too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

That certainly hasn\u2019t been a problem of late. Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen was averaging 19 minutes and 26 seconds of ice time in October; he\u2019s getting just 14:55 in November. He\u2019s played more than 15:02 just twice in the last 10 games, and both of those games went to overtime.<\/p>\n

Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen, as you\u2019d expect given his laid-back personality, shrugged it all off, saying that Rod Brind\u2019Amour moved him around a lot in Carolina too. But on a new team with unfamiliar teammates, Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen hasn\u2019t had much of a chance to develop any real chemistry with anyone, least of all Bedard \u2014 the guy he was ostensibly brought in to play with.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoesn\u2019t really matter what the plan was, everything always changes,\u201d Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen said. \u201cWe might go back together at some point, you never know. We\u2019re just trying to get better as a team and find what\u2019s working. I feel like we\u2019re close.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen sought the bright side of his separation from Bedard, noting that he can get a better view of Bedard\u2019s game from the bench and Bedard can do the same with him, so they can learn from each other in that way. Might seem like a stretch, but when you\u2019re not scoring, not winning and not playing as much, you grasp for whatever silver linings you can find.<\/p>\n

With a power-play goal against the Panthers on Thursday and a secondary assist \u2014 combining with Bedard to set up Dickinson as their lines overlapped against the Ducks last Tuesday \u2014 Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen could be finally shedding his lengthy slump. Being back in the top six \u2014 albeit not with Bedard \u2014 against the Stars should help.<\/p>\n

And hey, three years, the length of Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen\u2019s contract, is a long time. This could all end up being a minor blip, and Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen might spend the next 225 games joined at the hip with Bedard, helping the kid become the star he\u2019s destined to be, and putting up the monster numbers he\u2019s always been capable of himself.<\/p>\n

If not, Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen will do whatever he can to make himself useful in whatever role he\u2019s in. He always does.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll play whatever,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Teuvo Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen can do it all. On a Blackhawks team struggling for consistency, that might not be in his best interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-4556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks","tag-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING NEWS : Is Teuvo Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen a victim of his own versatility away from Connor Bedard? - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=4556\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING NEWS : Is Teuvo Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen a victim of his own versatility away from Connor Bedard? - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Teuvo Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen can do it all. 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