Jurco, Saarijarvi, Kronwall sidelined with injuries

Did the Red Wings recently hold some crazy party that we’re not supposed to know about?

Ansar Khan reported three separate injuries to players today… the most notable of which would be the back injury (and subsequent) surgery to forward Tomas Jurco, caused from working out.

In their minor league system, Vili Saarijavji is apparently also scheduled for a surgery of his own… 

…and as announced earlier today,

, but should be good for the start of the season. Avoiding injuring it further, I suppose?

From a human standpoint, the good news from all these injuries is that all three of them seem to be relatively minor and not long-term. From the info we have here, the most significant injury is obviously the Jurco one, as losing a likely NHL roster player for the start of the season isn’t ideal.

From a hockey standpoint, the injuries may in fact open up something new: a potential roster spot for Anthony Mantha? 

Who knows what Crazy Ken and Jaded Jeff have in store, but someone’s going to have to fill the approximately 9 minutes of ice time Jurco averaged last season. It’s anyone’s best guess right now, but perhaps a silver lining is a more skilled player will come in and stick in the opportunity that may have opened up.