Carolina Hurricanes: Teravainen’s 2019-20 Season Outlook

Entering his fourth season with the Carolina Hurricanes, what can we expect to see from Teuvo Teräväinen in the 2019-20 season?

Acquired back in 2016 along with Bryan Bickell in exchange for two draft picks, Teuvo Teräväinen has set career highs in points each of his previous three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes. Now entering his fourth season with the team, what kind of production can we expect to see from the 24 year old Finn?

Appearing in all 82 regular season games in 2018-2019, Teräväinen posted 76 points (21 goals and 55 assists), while being a career high +30. Although plus-minus is a stat that people tend to disregard, it shows that Teräväinen has vastly improved on the defensive side of the puck, to the point where he at times played on the penalty kill.

In the playoffs, Teuvo appeared in 15 games, scoring seven times while adding three assists for ten points. Averaging 17:01 in time on ice over in 245 games in Hurricanes’ sweater, “Turbo” has seen an increase in ice-time each season. Likely playing with Sebastian Aho, Teräväinen should see around 18:00 minutes a night next year, an average just slightly higher than his career-high TOI of 17:55 last season.

In 360 NHL games, Teuvo has 76 career goals putting him 24 away from the 100 goal mark. Averaging 20 goals per season as a Hurricane, it is highly possible that we’ll see him reach this milestone next season. Should he manage 24 goals, it would be a new career high; just one higher than his 23 goal output from the 2017-18 season.

With 226 total career points it is also likely, barring injuries, that we’ll see Teuvo hit the 300 point milestone this upcoming season. Teräväinen has been constantly improving each season, reaching 76 points last year, up from 64 and 42 the previous two seasons. Should he continue on this track, it is highly possible that he’ll score somewhere in the 82-88 point range next year.

Finishing 15th in the voting for the Lady Byng trophy (given to the player who exhibits high sportsmanship) and 24th in the Selke voting (given to the top defensive forward), “Turbo” could get his first individual piece of hardware.

“Turbo” is not only a threat to score important goals, but his high hockey IQ often results in him finding the open man. With 55 assists this past season, it is safe to say that whoever plays on the same line tends to elevate their game, seeing an increase in production as a result. After signing a new five year, 5.4 million dollar AAV deal in January, his contract will be considered a bargain deal through its entirety, ending in 2023-24.

Last season, 24 of Teräväinen’s points came on the power play. With the additional forward depth added upfront this offseason, the power play overall should hopefully see some improvement. Should the team convert more on the man advantage, Teuvo’s numbers should see a slight increase.

Looking ahead, it is likely that we’ll see 20-25 goals, and 55-60 assists from Teräväinen next season. Playing in all situations, Teuvo will be one of the Hurricanes’ most important forwards once again. He should play a key role in the team returning to the postseason and making a run at the Cup next fall.

What kind of production are you expecting to see from “Turbo” next season?