Devils place Trent Hunter, former Rats d-man Colin White on waivers

After re-signing former Albany River Rats star Zach Parise to a one-year, $6 million contract on Friday, the New Jersey Devils have reportedly placed newly acquired forward Trent Hunter and former Rats defenseman Colin White on waivers today.

The moves could be a precursors to buying both players out, should they go unclaimed in the waiver process.

Having settled their final pending arbitration case with the signing of Parise on Friday, the Devils have begun a 48-hour buy out period starting today, according to Tom Gulitti. In order to buy out a player, a team must first place that player on waivers. If that player isn't claimed by another NHL team his contract may be bought out by his current team, saving them money and salary cap space in the processes

Hunter was acquired just days ago in a trade that saw former Rats forward Brian Rolston heading to the New York Islanders.

White, who played parts of three seasons with Albany between the 1997-98 and 1999-00 seasons, has been a life-long Devil, winning two Stanley Cup championships with New Jersey (2000 and 2003) since being drafted by the team in 1996.

UPDATE: It has been confirmed that New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello plans to buy out both contracts if the players clear waivers. Tom Gulitti has more:

If either player clears waivers at noon Tuesday without being bought out, the Devils would be able to buy them out at two third the total remaining value on their contract over twice the remaining years.

For White, the buyout would be $2 million with the cap hit spread over two years—or $1 million per year. For Hunter, the buyout price would $2,666,667 with the cap hit spread over four seasons—or $666,667 per season.

In total, the Devils would save $3,333,333 in cap space in the 2011-12 season. They already have approximately $2.5 million in cap space (depending upon which players are on the roster).

Gulitti goes on to point out that with White gone, the Devils will have only two members of the 2003 Stanley Cup championship team on their roster next season, including franchise goaltender Martin Brodeur and former Albany River Rats forward Patrik Elias.

Note: Don Ferlazzo is not an employee of the Albany Devils, nor is this blog sponsored or influenced by the organization in any way.

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