The Chicago Blackhawks held one final practice on Wednesday before the Olympic break concluded, and Teuvo Teravainen, the lone Olympic participant on the NHL roster, finally rejoined the team.
Teravainen and Finland won the Bronze Medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, defeating Slovakia 6-1 on Saturday to earn a place on the podium. From an individual perspective, it wasn’t the best tournament for Teravainen, however, as he tallied just one assist and failed to score a goal in six games. Regardless, he was more than proud to help his native country finish third in the competition.
“Such an awesome experience,” Teravainen said with a wry smile. “To hang out with all the Finns and play for your country, it’s awesome every time… We got something to bring back home. Bronze is pretty cool.”
The return flight home to Chicago sadly wasn’t trouble-free for Teravainen, as he told the media after practice that he was stuck in New York for two days due to the East Coast snowstorms. But now back with his NHL club, finally, Teravainen says he’s ready to go, despite the quick turnaround from his recent travel.
“I just got back [to Chicago] last night. Those flights didn’t really go our way, but I’m back now. I’m ready to go again.”
Teravainen has mostly played a top-six role for the Blackhawks so far in the 2025-26 season, and he received the same opportunity for Finland in Milan. However, it appears the 31-year-old could be bumped down the lineup when Chicago returns to action in Nashville on Thursday.
#Blackhawks lines at practice:
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Moore-Nazar-Bertuzzi
Donato-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Teravainen-Foligno-Slaggert
Vlasic-Crevier
Murphy-Rinzel
Grzelcyk-Levshunov
Korchinski
Knight
Soderblom
Extras: Dach, Lafferty
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 25, 2026
During line rushes at practice, Teravainen played left wing on the fourth line with captain Nick Foligno and Landon Slaggert. He’s been utilized in the bottom six scarcely this year, but it’s somewhat of a deserved demotion, considering his lack of production over the last several months.
Going back to the beginning of December, Teravainen has recorded only two points in 25 games at even strength, with both being goals. In fact, his last even-strength assist came all the way back on Nov. 20, against the Seattle Kraken. He’s gone 30 consecutive games without tallying an assist during 5-on-5 play. In 50 games total this season, he’s only picked up 11 even-strength points.
Simply put, Teravainen let the Blackhawks’ offense down mightily with his ice-cold play leading up to the break, especially when the team was without both Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar. Because of that, he seems to be paying the consequences now with a lesser role, which could continue for the remainder of the season. It will be fascinating to see how head coach Jeff Blashill handles Teravainen over the final 25 games, especially when more young players/prospects arrive on the scene.
Kaiser Resumes Skating
Another Blackhawks player who was on the ice for the first time since the start of the Olympic break was defenseman Wyatt Kaiser, who suffered a lower-body injury against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 4. Kaiser skated individually before practice on Thursday and didn’t join his teammates for the rest of the session. Still, it was tremendous to see him progress enough to resume skating again.
Kaiser, 23, was placed on injured reserve when the team returned to practice last Tuesday. Based on Blashill’s initial comments, it felt like a multi-week absence was coming for Kaiser, especially with both Sam Rinzel and Kevin Korchinski getting recalled from the AHL. But in a pleasantly surprising turn of events, Kaiser could actually join the team during the latter half of the upcoming four-game road trip.
When Blue Jackets’ blue-liner Zach Werenski landed hard on Kaiser’s left leg, which then twisted awkwardly, there was some concern that he had played his final game of 2025-26. Fortunately, he avoided a more serious injury, and it seems like he’ll only miss a few outings, thanks to the timing of the break.
With both Rinzel and Korchinski currently up in the NHL, there are seven defensemen on the active roster once again. Kaiser’s return would give the Blackhawks eight players on the back end, which, of course, is one too many. But with the trade deadline just nine days away, there’s a strong chance that the blue line gets trimmed down before Kaiser makes his comeback.
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