Red Wings Trade Bait: Tomas Jurco

The Details

Age: 24

Cap Hit: $900,000

Expires: July 2017 (RFA)

Clauses: None

Tomas Jurco, the player we heard so much about but saw so little of, some because he hasn’t taken advantage of the opportunities and some of it could be attributed to not getting many opportunities. Regardless, it appears Jurco’s time with the Detroit Red Wings organization is coming to a quick end.

Elliotte Friedman from Sportsnet in his 30 Thoughts mentioned:

13. Sounds like Tomas Jurco wants a new opportunity and Detroit is trying to find a match.

Helene St James also mentioned Jurco has demanded a trade;

Jurco, 24, requested a trade this season, questioning whether he has a future with the Wings. Playing sporadically is a hard way for a young player to develop.

Jurco has played sparing minutes in his Red Wing career, despite appearing in 155 games he hasn’t logged heavy minutes and just hasn’t become player many thought he could be. Meaning, a steady 3rd or 4th liner that will be in the lineup every night while contributing at least around 10ish goals a season and being good defensively, so that he cannot be taken out of the lineup. He has scored just 15 goals and adding 24 assists in Detroit.

One, and likely train of thought, is that we have seen enough and Jurco just is not a good fit here, but the other train of thought is at 24, you hate to give up on someone where you wouldn’t receive much in return via trade.

The risk is that he was misused or not utilized correctly here and he progresses enough with another team that we wonder what if.

However, if Jurco didn’t breakthrough so far on a team that has struggled to make the playoffs the last few season, when will he ever? Injuries and bad luck have been a factor, but Jurco wants to move on and the Red Wings should as well. After all, if you’re really not going to use a player, why keep him around?

Now let’s turn to KyleWIIM for his take on breakdown specifics of a Jurco trade.

What could a trade for Tomas Jurco bring Detroit?

It really is hard to say, but I look at Jurco as a decent bottom-six player or cheap depth for a team looking to make a push. I don’t think Jurco is going to be some sort of prolific 50+ point guy, I mean, he did see some time with Pavel Datsyuk and it didn’t net any results. From what we’ve heard from insiders like Elliot Friedman, Jurco is unhappy with being scratched so much, and has made it clear he wants to be somewhere he can play often. Are teams going to want him? Or are teams going to stay smart and realize that sooner or later he’ll probably end up on waivers?

That being said, I think anything less than a 3rd round pick would be underwhelming, unless it came as a package with something else. Jurco is what he is — Cheap, reliable depth.

What teams could be interested?

I think Jurco would be a great fit with the Washington Capitals, LA Kings, or Chicago Blackhawks. Basically teams who can afford to bolster their depth at a low-cost.

If Traded The Ideal Projected Deal Could be:

Let’s say Chicago wants to replace a guy like Jordin Tootoo with Tomas Jurco (this would be a wise choice.) Ideally, since Jurco wants out, I’d ask the Hawks for a 2nd round pick, and sell them that they are getting a reliable bottom-six guy who will be cost-controlled when his contract is up at the end of the season due to his RFA status. Who knows, maybe you could also sell to them that they could give Jurco a look on a top line with Marian Hossa and see if they spark some Slovakian chemistry. All-in-all, I’d be happy with anything from a 3rd round pick and up.