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Canucks put Ballard on regular waivers

Keith Ballard

The Vancouver Canucks freed up some cap space by trading away goaltender Cory Schneider, but they are still close to the cap ceiling. With that likely in mind, the Canucks placed Keith Ballard on regular waivers, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

The fact that he’s not on $100 unconditional waivers is an important distinction because he needs to clear unconditional waivers before he can be bought out.

Ballard has two seasons remaining on his six-year, $25,200,000 contract. At his height, Ballard could surpass the 30-point milestone, but the 30-year-old defenseman recorded just 16 points in 148 games over the last three seasons. He also went from averaging over 20 minutes per game with the Florida Panthers to under 16 minutes in Vancouver.

His agent Ben Hankinson, recently suggested that his buying out his client would allow Ballard to start fresh.

“My guess is they are going to push the trade front as hard as they can, probably up to the (June 30) draft, and see where that takes them,” Hankinson said at the time.