Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Tomas Jurco

Detroit Red Wings Trade Tomas Jurco To Chicago Blackhawks

at CDT | by 1 Comment

In another pre-deadline deal, the Detroit Red Wings have sent Tomas Jurco to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a third-round pick in 2017. Despite Stan Bowman’s comments to the contrary, the Hawks have indeed jumped into the deadline fray. <a rel=Tomas Jurco” width=”219″ height=”300″ />

Jurco is a 24-year old winger who has yet to make a real impact at the NHL level, scoring just 39 points in 159 career games. After scoring 15 points in 36 games as a rookie in 2013-14, his play and icetime have been cut down substantially, and has been held pointless in 16 games this season. Pierre LeBrun of ESPN however reports that the Hawks have been after him for the past six weeks and really wanted him at the deadline.

Chicago does have a tendancy of turning cast off wingers into something valuable, and perhaps Jurco will be the latest in that narrative. The former second-round pick (35th overall in 2011) does seem have potential upside left to unlock. One scout told Craig Custance of ESPN exactly that: “I’ve always thought he had a little bit more skill than what we have seen from him.”

Since Jurco is earning just $900K this season, it won’t cost the Hawks much in cap-space but did require a legitimate pick. Though the Hawks have their eyes set on a fourth Stanley Cup and a very low draft number, a third rounder is still a valuable asset. Earlier this week it was enough to pry Michael Stone from Calgary, though Jurco obviously comes with much longer control. He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of this year, and is arbitration eligible.

The Hawks don’t have much room, but don’t let Bowman fool you. He’s always involved in what’s going on at the deadline, and Frank Seravalli of TSN tweeted that he thinks Patrick Eaves—who was dealt to Anaheim just minutes prior—was also a target for Chicago. The Ducks received a second-round pick that may turn into a first depending on their playoff results, something that the Hawks may not have been willing to part with.

Chicago has sent down Vinnie Hinostroza to make room for Jurco on the roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Garrioch’s Latest: Shattenkirk, Lightning, Jurco, Vegas

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The recent run of the St. Louis Blues has all of a sudden made their decision regarding pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk a much more difficult one, writes Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun in his latest Insider Trading column.  It has long been believed that the Blues – who aren’t expected to re-sign him – were hoping to move him in an effort to avoid losing him for nothing in July but with the team now sitting somewhat comfortably in a playoff spot, it’s a much tougher sell as moving him would hurt their fortunes considerably.

The asking price from GM Doug Armstrong remains quite high, including a first round pick, a high quality prospect, plus a third element.  If he can get all of that in a return, moving him even while in a playoff spot would be a lot more palatable but there’s little indication at this time that anyone is willing to meet that price for a rental player, even the top one on the market.

Garrioch also has updates on several other goings-on around the league.  As usual, the full column is worth a read but here are a handful of the highlights:

  • Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is looking to free up some cap space beyond this season with players like Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, and Jonathan Drouin all headed for restricted free agency. A couple of players they’d like to move are defensemen Braydon Coburn and Jason Garrison.  Coburn has two years left on his deal after this one with a $3.75MM cap hit while Garrison has one year remaining at $4.7MM.  However, Yzerman will need to provide some sort of incentive to get a team to take on one of those deals and while it appears he’s willing to do so, the question becomes how much of a sweetener would they be willing to part with?
  • On top of pending UFA Thomas Vanek, the Red Wings are looking to find a new home for winger Tomas Jurco. It came out last month that the 24 year was hoping to be dealt as he has spent a significant portion of this season as a healthy scratch.  While it’s likely that GM Ken Holland would like to move some players with term left on their deals, that will be quite difficult as quite a few are on long-term pacts and are underachieving this season.
  • Golden Knights GM George McPhee reached out to now-Canadiens coach Claude Julien after he was let go by the Bruins but clearly no deal was reached. Considering Julien was primed to be in a spot to be very selective about where he went if he waited until the offseason and the likelihood that the expansion team struggles out of the gate, he likely wouldn’t have been the right fit in Vegas anyways.  The scribe suggests that former Florida bench boss Gerard Gallant remains the favorite to get the job although ex-Islanders coach Jack Capuano has also been interviewed.

Rumor Roundup: Hanzel, Jurco, Parity

at CDT | by 1 Comment

News and notes from the NHL’s rumor mill:

  • According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Arizona Coyotes offered the Montreal Canadiens pending UFA Martin Hanzal in exchange for Michael McCarron, a 1st round draft pick, and a conditional draft pick. That is a steep price to pay for a player with only 10G and 8A in 39 games. Hanzal hasn’t done anything lately to help the Coyotes, either—he’s scored in only two games this month. Unfortunately for teams looking at Hanzal, the Coyotes’ asking price is in line with previous deals for Hanzal-like players. Andrew Ladd returned a prospect (Marko Dano) and a first and third round draft pick, while Eric Staal returned a prospect (Aleksi Saarela) and two second round draft picks. Both had similar production and similar ages to Hanzal at the deadline last year. That first round pick could turn into a second round pick if Hanzel continues to underproduce, but the Coyotes are not out the realm of reasonability right now.
  • According to the Detroit Free Press’s Helene St. James today, Tomas Jurco had asked the Detroit Red Wings for a trade this season. Jurco has sat as a healthy scratch for all but 11 games this season, and has failed to register a point in those games. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has also heard that Jurco wants out, and one can see why. Sometimes a player has no room in a given organization, and no player wants to sit idly by at any point in his career. Teams are usually good about accommodating these requests—like when the Maple Leafs traded Peter Holland to the Arizona Coyotes for a conditional seventh round draft pick—but nothing is guaranteed. The problem for most teams is that the player usually has untapped potential and they want to hold on to that player as long as they can.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger said on TSN 1040 Vancouver today that the trade market is paralyzed by parity. Because so many teams are within a few points of a playoff spot, those teams are wary of trading away assets. Part of that parity stems from the so-called loser point, where many games end up becoming three point games (2 for a win, 1 for the OT/SO loss). The parity may be an illusion however. Three years ago Elliotte Friedman, then with the CBC, wrote that of the 32 teams 4 points or more back of a playoff spot, only 3 teams managed to make the playoffs.

Atlantic Notes: Girgensons, Jurco, Rask

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Sabres are showing some concern with center/left winger Zemgus Girgensons, who has just one shot on goal in his last five games, writes Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News.  In their last game, he found himself dropped to fourth line and saw just 9:07 of ice time, his lowest since getting injured in a game in the first period back in January.

Girgensons acknowledges that he is still adjusting to playing a more structured style under Dan Bylsma compared to the looser style under previous coach Ted Nolan, who the 22 year old thrived playing under.  In particular, Bylsma would like to see him drive the net much more often:

“He should be a guy that should be peeled off the goalie every time he’s on the ice. He should be getting to that hard area to score a goal. It’s something we know he can do and it’s something he’s got to do to have success in his game.”

Girgensons has just a goal and three assists in 21 games this year, not the start he was looking to get off to after signing a one year, $1.15MM deal back in September.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Detroit’s Tomas Jurco, who is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow, dropped 15 pounds over the offseason, notes MLive’s Peter J. Wallner. Jurco felt that he was more of a scoring threat when he was faster so instead of bulking up as he had the past couple of seasons, he decided to slim down in the hopes that doing so will help him rebound from a rough 2015-16 where he had just four goals and two assists in 44 NHL games, a season that also saw him become a frequent healthy scratch.
  • Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask has made an adjustment to his goaltending style and as a result, the unpredictability for shooters is paying early dividends, writes Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe. In recent years, Rask has strictly used the reverse VH goaltending style and while he’s comfortable doing so, his penchant for doing so in all situations was coming back to bite him at times in the past.  Now, he’s staying upright more often, making it tougher for opponents to know how he’s going to attack each shot and the results are certainly there so far.  Rask sits second in the league in goals against average (1.62) and tied for fourth in save percentage (.940) through 16 games so far this season.

Red Wings Notes: Injuries, Jurco, Mantha

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The injuries continue to pile up for the Detroit Red Wings after Tyler Bertuzzi, and Brendan Smith both left the game in the Red Wings 2-1 loss to Montreal Saturday night. Dylan Larkin was also roughed up, but he returned to finish out the game. Throw in Jimmy Howard, who was hurt Friday evening against New Jersey, and it’s been a rough stretch for Detroit in terms of losing player to injury. The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James reports that Tomas Jurco is about ready to return, but he too, has suffered his fair share of setbacks.

General manager Ken Holland believes that Jurco will be cleared to play in Tuesday’s contest against Dallas, but St. James writes that Jurco’s back continues to be a question mark. After surgery this summer, Jurco’s back flared up during his conditioning stint with AHL affiliate Grand Rapids on Friday. Doctors checked him out, and believe he will be alright for Tuesday’s contest against Dallas.

Mar 29, 2016; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Detroit Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha (39) plays the puck and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin (74) defends during the third period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

St. James adds that reports on Smith and Bertuzzi’s injuries won’t be available until Monday. In addition to the aforementioned Wings, Andreas Athanasiou, Alexey Marchenko, and Darren Helm are missing from the lineup.  As it stands, the Red Wings lead the league in man-games lost with 140, and the number will certainly rise after yesterday’s tilt.

In other Red Wings news:

  • Anthony Mantha has been impressive in his callup to Detroit, sniping a pair of goals that have made the highlight reel. In seven games, Mantha has four points (2-2).  Jean-Francois Chaumont spoke with Holland and it sounds as if Holland is still willing to give the nod to a veteran. (The article is in French but can be translated into English). Holland complimented Mantha’s play and his significant improvement since his days in junior hockey, but stopped short of saying his spot in Detroit is secure. Chaumont believes that Mantha will become a top scorer, and others, like Winging It In Motown’s Prashanth Iyer, show the advanced stats that reveal Mantha’s strong play in his first seven games with Detroit.
  • Add the Detroit News’ Gregg Krupa to the list of pundits who believes that Mantha is a star in the making. Krupa indicates that Mantha brings the size, scoring, and speed that will light the lamp often. Krupa also defends Holland’s decision to keep Mantha in Grand Rapids:

While praising the Wings brass these days for anything is only occasionally warranted, and fraught with the risk of targeting on social media, the fact of the matter is Holland and Devellano were right about Mantha’s performance and wise to make it plain to the player, perhaps even in publicly prominent ways. And Jeff Blashill gets the primary assist for knowing the player well enough to decide when he could play regularly with Henrik Zetterberg and supply puck retrieval and possession skills, which are as intrinsic to Mantha’s role as his ample finishing skills.

Krupa is careful to emphasize (after heaping praise on an oft-maligned front office) that the Red Wings would be hard pressed to send Mantha back down once the team is healthy again. Regardless of what the front office chooses to do, Mantha certainly has a large number of supporters who want him to stay in Detroit permanently.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Atlantic Notes: Kane, Jurco, Hoffman, Ryan

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Buffalo left winger Evander Kane has seen his name pop up in trade rumors recently with Vancouver and Minnesota but no deal has taken place.  Speaking with Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, Kane doesn’t seem to be fazed by having his name in trade chatter:

“It’s nothing new for me, something I’ve dealt with. There’s been bad reporting, inaccurate reporting, confused reporting, silly reporting. And then you have accurate reporting too. I’m used to it all. For me, I really don’t care because you can’t worry about it. … I’m happy with what I’m doing. I’m focused on hockey.”

Kane has been no stranger to having his name out there, both for on and off-ice reasons.  His off-ice issues have been well documented while on the ice, he has shown flashes of being the high end power forward he was pegged to be after being the fourth overall pick of Atlanta back in 2009 but also has had moments of inconsistency that have prevented him from being a top liner wherever he plays.

In the meantime, Kane is working his way back into Buffalo’s lineup after being injured in the season opener with four cracked ribs.  He has played in the last seven games but has only two assists.  He has surpassed the 20 minute mark in each of his last two outings though as he earns more responsibility from head coach Dan Bylsma.

With two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $5.25MM and a salary of $6MM in each season, any sort of deal involving the 25 year old would require a high salaried player coming back Buffalo’s way if they were to decide to deal him which could complicate any potential trade.  Harrington adds that the Sabres aren’t shopping Kane but are listening to offers if a team wants to inquire about him.

More from the Atlantic:

  • The Detroit Red Wings have assigned right winger Tomas Jurco to Grand Rapids of the AHL on a conditioning assignment, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link). He’s expected to play two games for the Griffins and then return to Detroit on the weekend.  Jurco has yet to play this season due to offseason back surgery.
  • Senators left winger Mike Hoffman will be back in the lineup tonight after missing the last two games with a groin problem, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. However, Bobby Ryan (broken finger) is not yet ready to return.  Head coach Guy Boucher is hopeful that Ryan will be able to play on Thursday night against Boston.

Snapshots: Vrbata, Detroit Injuries, Beleskey, Flyers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Arizona right winger Radim Vrbata holds a unique distinction among the 719 players to suit up in the NHL this season, writes Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated.  Vrbata is the lone player in the league to be in his third stint with the same organization.  Vrbata played with the Coyotes in 2007-08, then was traded back there again in 2009, staying until 2014.  After a two year stint with Vancouver, he returned to the desert, signing a one year, incentive-laden deal with Arizona this summer.

When he had signed with the Canucks, Vrbata admitted that he never really wanted to leave the Coyotes and had stayed in touch with plenty of players and staffers over the past two seasons with the hope of returning down the road.  The 35 year old enjoyed the familiarity that only Arizona could provide, from the market to the coach (Dave Tippett), to even his linemate in Martin Hanzal.

That comfort level appears to have been quite helpful for Vrbata in his third stint with the team.  After following up a 63 point effort two years ago with arguably the worst season of his career in 2015-16, he’s off to a strong start with Arizona this season with four goals and six assists through his first nine games and is currently skating on their top line.

[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Red Wings right winger Thomas Vanek is expected to miss the next 2-3 weeks with a hip strain, GM Ken Holland told MLive’s Ansar Khan. Holland remains hopeful that defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who has yet to play this season with a knee injury, will be able to return to the lineup in the next week or so.  Meanwhile right winger Tomas Jurco, who is still recovering from offseason back surgery, is likely to be cleared for contact sometime next week.  Holland anticipates Jurco would need another 7-10 days beyond that to get into game shape.
  • Bruins left winger Matt Beleskey is set to be a healthy scratch tonight against Tampa Bay, notes CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty. Beleskey is off to a tough start this season with no points and a -7 rating in nine games.  Prospect Sean Kuraly will make his NHL debut in Beleskey’s spot on Boston’s third line.
  • The Flyers have sent center Scott Laughton to their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley on a conditioning assignment, the team announced. The 22 year old suffered a lower body injury back in training camp and is currently on long-term injury reserve.  He’s eligible to be activated on Saturday but it would appear that he’ll get into a couple of games in the minors before joining Philadelphia’s active roster.  Still with Philly, defenseman Andrew MacDonald is expected to miss at least the next week with a lower body injury, the club announced (Twitter link).

Red Wings Notes: Vanek, Howard, Pulkkinen

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Detroit Red Wings are off to a great 6-2-0 record this season, and part of it has been the exceptional play from Thomas Vanek. The Austrian winger has scored eight points in seven games this season, but missed the Wings last game against the Blues with a lower-body injury.  He’s not at the morning skate again today, according to Ansar Khan of MLive.com and won’t play again tonight.

Vanek signed a one-year, $2.6MM deal with the Red Wings this summer, a huge bargain if he could get back to the ~60 point player he was once a lock to be. The former forty-goal man has been on a steady decline in recent years, and has big question marks defensively.

  • Jimmy Howard will start tonight, his third of the season. After Petr Mrazek took the job last season, Howard has been fighting to prove that he is capable of starting at this level still, in order to entice another team to go after him.  The 32-year old has been heavily rumored to be on the market, but since he comes with such a big price tag Detroit might ultimately have to keep him as the backup. Howard is owed almost $5.3MM annually for the next three seasons.
  • Former Red Wing Teemu Pulkkinen has been waived again, this time by the Minnesota Wild. The AHL sniper can’t seem to find his footing in the NHL, and will likely be claimed by a team once again. He had one goal in his eight-game stint with Minnesota that was filled with concern about his foot speed at the NHL level. While his shot is incredibly strong, he often couldn’t keep up with the level of play.
  • Tomas Jurco was back skating today at practice, according to Khan. While the young forward hasn’t played this season, he’s set to make his return from a back injury in mid-November.

Atlantic Notes: MacKenzie, Red Wings, Alexandrov

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Florida Panthers have named Derek MacKenzie as their new team captain, the team announced today.  He becomes the ninth different captain in franchise history.

MacKenzie has spent the last two seasons with the Panthers, primarily in a fourth line/penalty killing role.  Last year, the 35 year old played in 64 games, recording seven goals and six assists.  In 453 games between Atlanta, Columbus, and Florida, he has 42 goals and 53 helpers.

This offseason, MacKenzie inked a two year extension that locked him up through the 2018-19 season.  The deal will pay him an average of $1.35MM per year, a small raise over the $1.3MM he’s set to earn this season.

It was widely anticipated that 2014 top pick Aaron Ekblad was going to receive the captaincy but instead he will be one of the alternate captains along with veteran forward Jussi Jokinen.  Presumably, this was done to allow Ekblad to ease into a leadership role instead of putting the extra pressure on him at just 20 years of age.

Only two teams are without full-time captains for the upcoming season, Carolina and Toronto.

Other news and notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Detroit Red Wings have placed four players on injured reserve to start the season, notes MLive’s Brendan Savage. Most notably among them is right winger Tomas Jurco, who played in 44 games with the team last year and would likely have been in a depth role at the start of the season.  Also placed on IR were center Tomas Nosek and defensemen Vili Saarijarvi and Dan Renouf.  Earlier in the week, head coach Jeff Blashill told George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press that the team is expected to carry eight blueliners to start the season, in part due to the uncertainty surrounding Niklas Kronwall’s availability for opening night.
  • Before cutting him earlier this month, the Montreal Canadiens offered defenseman Yuri Alexandrov a one year, two-way contract, Slava Malamud reports in a column for the Journal de Montreal (link in French). The 28 year old has spent the last five years in the KHL and decided to return there over signing with Montreal and starting the season in the AHL.  Alexandrov has already expressed a desire to make another run at an NHL spot next year.  It would appear that the Canadiens’ acquisition of Jonathan Racine from Florida on Saturday fills the spot that they had intended to give Alexandrov.

Injury Notes: Backlund, Jurco, Zetterberg, Leafs, Grabovski, Smid

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Flames center Mikael Backlund has suffered a concussion and is likely to miss the remainder of the World Cup of Hockey, according to a report from Expressen’s Henrik Sjoberg and Gunnar Nordstrom (link in Swedish).  The injury was reportedly sustained against Finland on a hit from Sami Lepisto; as a result, Backlund missed yesterday’s game against Team North America and was replaced in the lineup by St. Louis center Patrik Berglund.

Backlund has been held pointless in four games with the Swedes including pre-tournament action while playing in a bottom six role.  There is no timetable for how long he might miss beyond the possibility of missing Sweden’s remaining games at the World Cup.

While the 27 year old played in all 82 games last season, he is no stranger to  being injured as he has missed time due to a broken finger, injuries to the arm, hand, and knee, as well as to his abdominal wall all since 2011-12.

[Related: Team Sweden Depth Chart]

In other injury news:

  • Detroit winger Tomas Jurco isn’t expected to play until at least November as he continues to recover from back surgery, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan. Jurco struggled with Detroit last season, recording just six points in 44 games while spending time as a scratch.  When healthy, he’ll likely battle for a bottom six spot with the Wings.
  • In a separate tweet from Khan, Henrik Zetterberg, who withdrew from the World Cup (and was replaced by the now-concussed Backlund) due to a knee injury, will not be participating in team practices or scrimmages for the time being. He will, however, continue to skate on his own.  Last week, Zetterberg noted that he expected to be ready for the season opener although his likely level of participation in the exhibition games was unknown.
  • The Maple Leafs released their training camp roster and as expected, it was noted that defenseman Stephane Robidas (who is now a consultant for the team) plus forwards Nathan Horton and Joffrey Lupul have all failed their physicals and will start the season on injured reserve. It was reported yesterday that Lupul was heading for the IR while it’s unlikely that Horton will play again due to continuing back issues.
  • Islanders center Mikhail Grabovski continues to deal with concussion symptoms, tweets Newsday’s Arthur Staple.  He has not been given the green light to do any sort of skating yet so he’ll likely be out for a while although there is no timetable for his possible return.  Grabovski has two years left on his contract with a cap hit of $5MM.
  • Calgary blueliner Ladislav Smid will not play this season, reports Postmedia’s Kristen Odland.  A decision on retirement hasn’t been made and it’s more likely that he will spend the year on LTIR.  Smid played in just 22 games last season and suffered a neck injury towards the end of the year.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top