Fantasy Take: Teravainen & Bertuzzi Bound for Blackhawks
Brennan Des
2024-07-01
Chicago bolstered their winger depth on Monday, adding Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi to the fold.
These deals represent sizeable commitments for Chicago as Bertuzzi is on contract for four seasons and Teravainen for three. That's significant because as I write this, none of the team's other forwards have more than two years remaining on their deals. Bertuzzi and Teravainen's cap hits rank second and third respectively among Chicago forwards, behind only Taylor Hall ($6 million).
The magnitude of these contracts suggests both players will play prominent top-six roles with the team this year. That's especially important for Bertuzzi because he'd been stuck with less opportunity in recent seasons. He only saw 36% of Toronto's total power-play time last year, averaging 16 minutes of action a night. It was a drastic drop from his most productive years in Detroit, when he held a 60% share of PP time and saw over 19 minutes per game. Although Teravainen had a great even-strength role beside Sebastian Aho in Carolina, this move brings potential for a more prominent power-play role, as he'd been seeing just 46% of Carolina's time with the man advantage in recent years.
Because Taylor Hall missed the majority of last year with a knee injury, Chicago is effectively adding three top-six wingers to their roster for the upcoming season. With so many new faces in the lineup, it remains to be seen where everyone will slot in. Connor Bedard and Philipp Kurashev showed a blossoming chemistry last season, so they will likely play together. I'd guess Bertuzzi rounds out that top trio, allowing Hall and Teravainen to support 20-year-old Frank Nazar on the second line.
The bigger question will be which four forwards make the top power-play. Bedard is locked in for sure, but then there are three slots for four capable forwards in Hall, Teravainen, Kurashev, and Bertuzzi. I personally think Bertuzzi is the odd man out because he doesn't have massive power-play numbers on his resume, and the others seem more offensively inclined. That being said, his grit/net-front ability might provide a unique dynamic to the top unit. Hall/Teravainen/Kurashev seem to have overlapping skillsets, so one of those three could also fall to the second group. Another scenario might see the Blackhawks split time between two units, although that doesn't seem prudent when you have a superstar like Bedard. In any case, Nick Foligno, who saw time on the top unit last year, will see less power-play action than he did last season. That obviously hurts his fantasy outlook as 16 of his 37 points last year came on the man advantage.
Adding Teravainen and Bertuzzi to the lineup takes some pressure off of 22-year-old Lukas Reichel, who didn't seem ready for a top-six role based on his play last season. The 17th pick of the 2020 draft will have more space to develop this season, likely in a third line role beside Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson. I'd say this move hurts the fantasy value of mid-tier wingers like Ilya Mikheyev and Andreas Athanasiou, who may have had more top-six potential before Bertuzzi and Teravainen arrived.
After spending the first seven years of his career in Detroit, Bertuzzi lacked continuity in the past couple of seasons, splitting time between the Red Wings, Bruins, and Leafs. Having a secure, consistent role should allow him to settle in and develop chemistry in Chicago. This is a player who scored at a 75-point pace with the Red Wings just two years ago. A return to top-line/top-power-play minutes should help both Teravainen and Bertuzzi break a 60-point pace this year.
Who This Helps
Frank Nazar (better linemates, assuming he earns the second-line center role)
Tyler Bertuzzi/Teuvo Teravainen* (more even-strength ice-time, but PP opportunity up in the air)
Who This Hurts