Blackhawks sign six NHL free agents, including Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi and Laurent Brossoit

The Blackhawks opened their NHL free-agent market Monday with a series of signings, confirming their intention to take a step forward next season.

Beloved former Hawks forward Teuvo Teravainen returned on a three-year, $5.4 million salary-cap hit and gritty forward Tyler Bertuzzi agreed to a four-year, $5.5 million salary-cap hit, adding a significant influx of talent to the top-six forward group.

Goaltender Laurent Brossoit signed a two-year contract with a $3.3 million salary cap hit, giving Petr Mrazek a more experienced partner while sending struggling Arvid Soderblom back to the AHL.

The Hawks also added three other veterans to one-year deals — defenseman Alec Martinez at $4 million and forwards Pat Maroon at $1.3 million and Craig Smith at $1 million — before finishing the day by signing veteran defenseman TJ Brodie to a two-year deal with a salary cap hit of $3.75 million.

And finally, the Hawks re-signed forward Joey Anderson to a two-year, $800,000 salary-cap hit, keeping him on the team even though they didn’t extend him a qualifying offer Sunday.

While Kyle Davidson wasn’t a major player in the summer’s free-agent sweepstakes, he was the most active general manager in terms of total transactions. Coach Luke Richardson said the phones in the Hawks’ front office were ringing off the hook Monday morning.

“We’re excited to start trying to move this organization forward now,” Richardson said. “These have been a tough couple of years at times, but there have been times where we’ve seen really good signs. So now let’s take those little signs and put them into practice to make sure we can start moving forward.”

Offensive Improvements

Teravainen, 29, had 53 points — 25 goals and 28 assists — in 76 games with the Hurricanes last season. He spent most of his eight years in Carolina as a complementary winger to star center Sebastian Aho.

His return should be hugely popular with fans, who adored him early in his career in Chicago – winning the Stanley Cup in 2015 as a 20-year-old – and who lamented his departure for nearly a decade.

“He just thrived with a good skating team in Carolina,” Richardson said. “We hope he brings that mentality here. The way Carolina plays is great.”

Bertuzzi, also 29, had 43 points – 21 goals and 22 assists – in 80 games with the Maple Leafs last season, and he should be able to improve on those numbers with a bigger role in Chicago than in Toronto (where he averaged 16 minutes of ice time per game).

In 2021-22, his final season with the Red Wings, he averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time and had a career-high 62 points – 30 goals and 32 assists – in 68 games. He does have an injury history, however, missing most of the 2020-21 season with a back injury and much of the 2022-23 season with a wrist injury.

“Bertuzzi is the guy that’s in the net,” Richardson said. “He’s tough to handle and he scores some big goals out there. He’s one of those guys you think you put on the ice and even then he’s going to score a goal.”

There’s a good chance Teravainen and Bertuzzi will start the season as the two first-line wingers flanking Bedard, though Philipp Kurashev and Taylor Hall will have their own opportunities to earn those roles during training camp.

Teravainen excels at puck possession, has a high enough hockey IQ to match Bédard and can help him defend. Bertuzzi excels at creating pressure on the forecheck and winning puck battles, two things Bédard isn’t cut out for.

Adding depth

The Hawks were expected to add competition at goaltender, but Brossoit is much more than that. He deserves to be Mrazek’s first baseman.

The 31-year-old Canadian has never played more than 24 games in a single season, but he has had excellent results in each of the last two seasons with the Golden Knights and Jets, posting a .927 save percentage in both. He also has a .927 save percentage in five of his five games against the Hawks, a number that hasn’t been forgotten.

On defense, Martinez and Brodie will occupy second- or third-pairing roles. Brodie, 34, averaged nearly 22 minutes per game last season with the Leafs, recording 26 points (including 25 assists) in 78 games.

Martinez, who turns 37 later this month, is nearing the end of a stellar career with the Kings and Knights, but he still has some fuel in the tank. He averaged more than 19 minutes per game last season and scored 17 points in 55 games, though he will forever be remembered for his overtime goal that won the Stanley Cup for Los Angeles in 2014.

Either could potentially pair with Kevin Korchinski (Martinez spent a lot of time in Vegas with Shea Theodore, one of Korchinski’s longtime role models), but it now seems possible that Korchinski could end up in Rockford to start the season. He, Wyatt Kaiser and Ethan Del Mastro could end up battling in camp for a single roster spot.

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Up front, Maroon, 36, and Smith, 34, are both far from their prime but provide graying fourth-line depth. They’re an upgrade over Taylor Raddysh, MacKenzie Entwistle and Reese Johnson, who left the team.

Maroon, who has become a true toughness mercenary in recent years, had 16 points in 51 games for the Wild and Bruins last season. Smith had 20 points in 75 games with the Stars, but he is just two years removed from a 36-point campaign in Boston.

“(Maroon) is an old-school tough guy,” Richardson said. “Sometimes guys who don’t have to fight or physically fight because of their reputation are even more valuable because it calms things down. I can put him on the ice at any time if things get out of hand.”

Let’s not forget Ilya Mikheyev, the speedy defensive forward the Hawks acquired from the Canucks last week with two years left on his contract. But Sam Lafferty, another part of that trade, eventually hit the free-agent market and signed with the Sabres.

Looking forward

Even with this massive incursion of skill and depth, the Hawks likely won’t be a playoff team in 2024-25, but they likely won’t be a bottom-of-the-table team either.

It will be interesting to see exactly how much they improve on last season’s 52 points. The Central Division won’t be easy to climb, especially because Utah (with Mikhail Sergachev) and the Predators (with Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei) should be much better.

Interestingly, the Hawks won’t have a particularly young roster. Bedard, Korchinski, Alex Vlasic, Lukas Reichel and Perhaps an additional defender should complete the youth squad.

Frank Nazar and Landon Slaggert now appear likely to start in the AHL unless they really impress in camp, and second-round pick Artyom Levshunov will be in Rockford or back at Michigan State.

On that note, Rockford’s roster will be extremely young and the Hawks’ biggest long-term priorities still revolve around integrating their deep pool of prospects into the NHL. That’s why Davidson has more or less maintained his preference for short-term contracts.