Blackhawks trade for Red Wings' Jurco

The Blackhawks on Friday acquired left-shot winger Tomas Jurco from the Detroit Red Wings for a third-round pick in the 2017 draft.

Jurco, a 6-foot-2, 188-pound native of Kosice, Czechoslovakia, has played in just 16 games this season and has yet to record a point while averaging 10:02 of ice time. His best year came as a rookie in 2013-14 when he scored 8 goals and had 7 assists in 36 games.

To make room for Jurco, the Hawks reassigned Vinnie Hinostroza to Rockford.

Jurco was mostly a healthy scratch with Detroit, but GM Stan Bowman is hoping a fresh start will reinvigorate the 24-year-old, much like it did for Richard Panik. Bowman said the two players have similar skill sets.

"Tomas comes to us with good offensive imagination," Bowman said. "He's a very creative player. He's got good skills and good speed, and he's a big kid.

"I've had a chance to talk with Tomas briefly, and I know that he's very excited about getting to Chicago and trying to help the team win."

Jurco makes $900,000 and will be a restricted free agent when the season ends.

"We'll be patient with him, but we really think there's a good fit there, looking at his skills and the style of hockey we play," Bowman said.

Bowman said three weeks ago he wasn't expecting to make any huge moves at the trade deadline - which is Wednesday - and he certainly didn't stray from that narrative Friday. Bowman said he's feeling awfully good about a Hawks team that has won eight of nine and is pushing Minnesota for first place in the Central Division.

"It's a little bit different than previous years where I felt that we definitely needed something and we were lacking in an area," Bowman said. "I like the way this group (is) starting to come together. We've seen that be enhanced over the last couple of weeks here. We've seen some of the players step up, (Nick) Schmaltz in particular. Ryan Hartman, he's been really good all year, and obviously we've seen Jonathan (Toews) become a dominant player again.

"So it gives your team a confidence that you have balance, scoring in different lines, we've just added a young player to help us now as well as in the future. So there's a lot to be excited about.

"I'm not expecting more trades. I can't predict if more will happen, but I have a good feeling about this group right now."