A person familiar with the move tells The Associated Press that the Chicago Blackhawks have placed high-priced forward Bryan Bickell on waivers.
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The move would save the Blackhawks $950,000 in cap space, but they would still carry a $3.05 million cap hit on their National Hockey League roster because of rule changes in the last National Hockey League Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The Blackhawks have been in a cap crunch since winning their third Stanley Cup in six seasons this past June.
Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reported earlier this week that Chicago GM Stan Bowman had been in talks with Edmonton regarding a potential deal that would see Oilers defenceman Nikita Nikitin going the other way.
The 29-year-old Bickell is a rugged forward who was the focus of trade speculation this summer. Bickell signed a four-year, $16 million contract after helping Chicago win the Stanley Cup championship in 2013.
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Chicago plays its final preseason game Saturday. Last season the big Bowmanville, Ont., native scored 14 goals and 14 assists in 80 regular-season games. Every time he felt as if he were getting better, the symptoms returned.
