Michael Whitaker
Former Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Jurco began his NHL career with promise, but it went completely unfulfilled during his short tenure with the team. After being drafted 35th overall in 2011, he never scored more than 18 points in a single season, and went pointless in 16 games played this year.
Jurco was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks last month for a third-round draft pick, and though he’s also started slowly with his new team (no points in his first six games), he shared some of his thoughts of his former team and city. By the sounds of it, he’s sure happier now that he’s gone.
“There’s so much stuff to do,” Jurco said about Chicago, during an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “In Detroit, we were so bored, my girlfriend and I, we didn’t know what to do. … There wasn’t much to do. Here there’s so much stuff to do.”
“The biggest difference is that here we’re told to make plays instead of just making safe plays and chipping it in and playing safely,” Jurco said. “Here you actually should create something if you want to stick in this lineup because there’s so many creative players.”In addition to the dig at his former city, Jurco also spoke about how he appreciates Chicago’s system more than what he experienced with the Red Wings.
That certainly makes more sense than Jurco’s previous comments. The Red Wings are struggling offensively under head coach Jeff Blashill’s system and have also amassed historically bad man-advantage numbers. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are one of hockey’s highest scoring teams, and are poised for another Stanley Cup run.
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