Detroit — The Red Wings on Sunday placed Xavier Ouellet on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying the defenseman out of his contract.
Ouellet, 24, has another year on his contract at $1.3 million.
The Wings will have a salary cap hit of $166,667 for 2018-19 and $216,667 for 2019-20, as they’re responsible for one-third of Ouellet’s salary given he’s under the age of 26.
Ouellet (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) played 45 games last season and had seven points, all assists, with a minus-3 rating.
For all the excitement of this past weekend’s entry draft, and the expected contributions from all the high-end draft picks, Ouellet’s situation is a good education as to temper expectations with all young players.