The fact that Jurco is on the 4th line, and producing, and Weiss has rebounded in the way that he has tells me there is no space for him. Unless we drop Abdelkader and Helm down to the 4th line and bump out Miller or Glendening, I don't see a spot for him. Realistically we have 10 guys that can play in the top 9 with varying degrees of success.
Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Nyquist, Franzen, Tatar, Sheahan, Weiss, Abdelkader, Jurco, and Helm. And then there's the case of Teemu Pulkkinen who has actually EARNED his time with Detroit with his exemplary play the last two seasons in Grand Rapids. As evidenced by my avatar, I'm a big fan of Mantha, but there's simply no room, and simply no good reason for him to be ahead of Pulkkinen on the depth chart.(yet)
Abdelkader and Helm would be exemplary 4th line players, but Babs likes them in the top 6. Jurco's on the 4th line because of it. Pulkkinen should absolutely be a day 1 player next year. Something will have to give soon.