The Chicago Blackhawks placed forwards Tomas Jurco and Jordin Tootoo and goaltender Jean-Francois Berube on waivers Monday, according to The Athletic’s Scott Powers. All 30 teams will have a chance to make claims over the next 24 hours, otherwise the players will all be assigned to Rockford to open the season.
Jurco and Tootoo were battling for playing time in the bottom six, but with Alex DeBrincat taking a spot on the second line, there wasn’t a ton of room left. In the end, it appears Ryan Hartman, Artem Anisimov, Patrick Sharp, Tanner Kero, Lance Bouma, John Hayden, and Tommy Wingels will be the seven guys filling the bottom six.
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The Blackhawks traded a third-round pick to acquire Jurco from the Red Wings last season. It’s fair to say that trade hasn’t gone according to plan as the 24-year-old has struggled to stand out in training camp and preseason.
Berube was signed as a free agent this summer to compete with Anton Forsberg for the backup goalie gig. It was always Forsberg’s job to lose, though, and the former Blue Jackets netminder played well this preseason. It’s no surprise that Berube isn’t being sent down (unless he gets claimed).
The Hawks also sent forward Vinnie Hinstroza down to the AHL on Monday. He’s waiver-exempt, so he didn’t need to be placed on waivers like Jurco, Tootoo, and Berube.