Carolina Hurricanes: How Teuvo Teravainen Became the Best Wingman in the League

The Carolina Hurricanes can always count on Teravainen

Teuvo Teravainen went from being a player to sweeten a trade to the top wingman for the Carolina Hurricanes. Could be considered the best in the league?

Whenever Sebastian Aho or Andrei Svechnikov scores a goal, Teuvo Teravainen always seems to be right there to collect an assist. His uncanny ability to see the ice and dish the puck to exactly the right spot is otherworldly and for a Carolina Hurricanes team that seems to always play on its heels, it can come in some of the most clutch moments.

This season in only 68 games played, Teravainen managed to tally up 48 apples. Even with only a mere 15 goals to his name, that was still enough to put him second overall on the team in points. He is probably the most unselfish player in the league right now and probably the best winger in my very biased book.

But to be completely honest, his unselfishness can sometimes come at a price as he can sometimes opt to pass at the exact time an opportunity to shoot and score opens up as the defense and netminding anticipate him passing to his extremely skilled teammates.

Even then he still manages to place himself in the right spot to finish off many excellent plays with red lights going off behind an upset man wearing a mask.

During the playoffs, that skill becomes twice fold. In fact, last season during the incredible run towards the Eastern Conference Finals, Teuvo became his own version of clutch falling third in points only to Sebastian Aho and Defender Jaccob Slavin who seemed to collect points on every single tally.

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The only difference? 70% of those points came on goals instead of assists. The playoffs unlock his potential to score as he seems to opt to shoot as often as pass. That kept the defense and goaltending on their toes.

This season Teuvo has managed to grow his ability to see the ice perfectly and when the playoffs come back around that will be a tool and a weapon that will probably make him the most lethal player on the ice.

Give him an even more dangerous Sebastian Aho and a fully-fledged Andrei Svechnikov and back him up with one of the most complete defenses in the league, and this Carolina Hurricanes team will be the most dangerous NHL team when the puck drops, regardless of the history with the opponents.

But it gets even better when you consider that he and Aho are a staple on the kill as well. Only three other teams have a better penalty kill in the league and only the Bruins and Oilers are in the playoff run. Not a bad company to have. But will Turbo and his teammates be able to keep that up after the break and into the playoffs?

Only time will tell. For now, all we can look forward to is Teuvo Teravainen coming back on the ice and tearing it up. Training Camp is still set to begin on July 10th, so we can expect to see how much these players have managed to keep up with the sport.

Question for CC Readers: How excited are you for the return of Teravainen and Co.?