The Blackhawks are set to open NHL free agency Monday with several big splashes.
Beloved former forward Teuvo Teravainen and scrappy playmaking forward Tyler Bertuzzi will sign contracts with the Hawks once the window officially opens at 11 a.m. CT, per reports by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta and TSN’s Chris Johnston.
Teravainen’s contract will be three years with a $5.4 million salary-cap hit, while Bertuzzi’s contract will be four years with a $5.5 million cap hit. Both extend past the expiry Connor Bedard’s entry-level contract, demonstrating Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson’s willingness to give out longer-term contracts — something he originally seemed hesitant to do.
The Hawks are expected to make several other notable signings in the coming days as they seek to add more depth and experience to their defense and goalie corps.
Teravainen, 29, tallied 53 points — 25 goals and 28 assists — in 76 games for the Hurricanes last season. He spent the vast majority of his eight years in Carolina operating as a complementary winger to star center Sebastian Aho, making him a perfect candidate to fill the same role for Bedard.
His return should be immensely popular among fans, who loved him during his early-career stint in Chicago — winning the Stanley Cup in 2015 as a 20-year-old — and have lamented his departure for nearly a decade.
Bertuzzi, 29, tallied 43 points — 21 goals and 22 assists — in 80 games for the Maple Leafs last season, and he should be able to improve upon those numbers with a larger role in Chicago than he had in Toronto (where he averaged 16 minutes of ice time per game).
Back in 2021-22, his final season with the Red Wings, he averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time and erupted for a career-best 62 points — 30 goals and 32 assists — in 68 games. He does have an injury history, however, having missed most of 2020-21 with a back injury and a sizable chunk of 2022-23 with a wrist injury.