Carolina Hurricanes sign Teuvo Teravainen to team-friendly extension
The Carolina Hurricanes did a great job with the Teuvo Teravainen extension, getting him signed to a five-year deal worth $27 million.
The Carolina Hurricanes are a lot closer to the postseason than people thought they’d be. A huge reason for this has been their stellar first line, led by Sebastian Aho. However, it would be negligent to overlook Teuvo Teravainen. Much like Aho, he was scheduled to be a free agent after this season.
Aho’s extension will come at some point. But the Hurricanes got an early start to their offseason checklist by getting Teravainen signed to a very reasonable five-year $27 million deal. His cap hit will be $5.4 million starting in the 2019-20 season.
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Tervainen’s deal is a quality bargain for Carolina. He’s a bonafide center who can also play on the wing. In today’s NHL, $5.4 million is a nice price for a young forward who can play anywhere in your top six.
Since coming to the Hurricanes, Teravainen has improved each season. He set career highs in points in each of his first two seasons in Carolina and is on pace to do so once again this season. So far this season, Teravainen has 10 goals and 29 assists for 39 points in 48 games.
Obviously, playing with Aho has helped. But the fact is Tervainen’s been a productive two-way forward. Those are far harder to come by than people think. At worst, Teravainen can play all over the lineup and makes those around him better.
This also gives the Hurricanes a bit more clarity for their future. They only have 11 players under contract after this season and about $28 million of cap space to sign them with before factoring in the inevitable rise of the salary ceiling. This should give them over $30 million of cap space.
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Of course, most of this will be devoted to Aho’s extension. His price rises with every highlight reel play he makes. Signing Teravainen should make things easier to sign Aho. It’s a move that unquestionably helps the Hurricanes, both short-term and long-term. If they really need to clear cap space, they could always trade someone like Justin Faulk or Dougie Hamilton.