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.