Detroit Red Wings trade Tomas Jurco to Chicago for 3rd-round pick
The selling has begun.
The Detroit Red Wings have acquired a third-round pick in this year’s draft in exchange for little-used forward Tomas Jurco.
"Things haven't worked out here," general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press. "He and his agent let it be known he'd like to be elsewhere. He is restricted this summer and probably wouldn't have stayed, so we did the deal."
The Wings are 10 points out of the playoff picture, and are moving players for future assets. Holland would not talk specifics, but said he has talked to numerous colleagues this week, and will talk more before Wednesday's trade deadline. One big name in play is Thomas Vanek, who will appeal as a rental player to a team eyeing a Stanley Cup run
Jurco, 24, showed such promise when he was called up in 2014, contributing eight goals among 15 points in 36 games. The next season, then-coach Mike Babcock insisted Jurco stay with the Wings rather than be sent to the minors – at the time, Jurco did not require waivers – but Jurco did not build on his early success. He had three goals in 63 games, followed by four goals in 44 games in 2015-16. This season, he has mostly been a healthy scratch, with 16 appearances and no points.
It was the allure of what might be that intrigued the Blackhawks.
“It is not so much based on this current year’s performance,” Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said. “It was a tough situation for him, he was coming off an injury so he didn’t have training camp there and by the time he was ready to join the team, they already had sort of their lineup full. It was tough for him to find his place.
“We are looking at the potential he has going forward. You look back at his career, he has been an accomplished player at different levels and he certainly has shown flashes in the NHL. Not as consistently as I am sure he would like, or the Red Wings would like, but you certainly can see the potential there, and the talent. That is what we are looking at.”
The Blackhawks play at Joe Louis Arena on March. 10.
The Wings originally drafted Jurco in the second round, 35th overall, in 2011. He is a pending restricted free agent.
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Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.