Carolina Hurricanes: Regrading the Teuvo Teravainen Trade

Looking back on the Teuvo Teravainen trade, one of the best Hurricanes’ trades in the last decade.

If there is one thing that the Carolina Hurricanes’ front office does well, it’s leverage cap space to obtain valuable young assets. The team leveraged its cap space this past offseason to acquire a first-round pick and Erik Huala for scraps. The team recognized the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights were in desperate cap situations and ruthlessly took advantage.

The Hurricanes exploited a similar situation in 2016, as the Chicago Blackhawks found themselves backed up against the cap wall and needing to unload defenseman Bryan Bickell‘s contract. The expectation was that Chicago would have to include an asset to sweeten the deal and the Hurricanes took full advantage, acquiring a young forward named Teuvo Teravainen in exchange for two early-round draft picks.

The Hurricanes were taking on a risk with Teravainen, a promising young talent that had flashed during the Blackhawks Stanley Cup run by scoring four goals and adding six assists. His first full season had been a massive disappointment, however, and the Hurricanes were acquiring him on the last year of his rookie deal.

Three years after the trade, we look back and regrade one of the most important trades in Carolina Hurricanes’ history.