Teravainen surprised by deal to Hurricanes
Teuvo Teravainen didn't see it coming.
The 21-year-old forward was caught off guard by the trade that sent him from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday.
Related: Blackhawks trade Bickell, Teravainen to Hurricanes for 2 draft picks
"(The deal was) a surprise, of course," Teravainen told Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. "It was just a normal day, (and) then that (happened)."
Teravainen was sent to the Hurricanes along with veteran forward Bryan Bickell - and his $4-million cap hit - for a second-round pick in the upcoming draft and a third-rounder in 2017.
"With Chicago (and) their cap situation, you never know, but I was not expecting anything," Teravainen said.
The Blackhawks gave themselves $10 million in cap space before signing pending restricted free agent Richard Panik to a one-year deal later Wednesday.
Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise, Tomas Fleischmann, and Christian Ehrhoff are Chicago's notable pending UFAs, while Andrew Shaw is set to become a restricted free agent if he's not signed to an extension by July 1.
Related: Teravainen a painful cap casualty for Blackhawks
Teravainen offered gratitude to his former club Wednesday.
"(It was) special to be part of such a great organization and fans and everything, such great players. I just want to thank everyone," he said.
He scored 13 goals and added 22 assists in his first full season with the Blackhawks in 2015-16, posting 44 points in his first 115 NHL games over three campaigns beginning in 2013-14.
Chicago drafted Teravainen 18th overall in 2012.
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