The Vancouver Canucks have begun the process of getting down to the $59.4 million NHL salary cap before Wednesday afternoon's deadline.
The club dealt defenceman Shane O'Brien and right winger Dan Gendur to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday in exchange for defenceman Ryan Parent and forward Jonas Anderson.
USA Today is reporting that the Canucks have subsequently waived Parent.
O'Brien is set to make $1.6 million this season, a luxury on a seventh defenceman that the Canucks simply couldn't afford under the cap.
While money had something to do with the deal, general manager Mike Gillis told TSN's Gino Reda on That's Hockey that other factors contributed to the decision as well.
"The deal was prompted by who was best in camp," Gillis told Reda. "We had to make a decision at some point on who were the best players and Shane was behind a couple of other guys. Getting (Dan) Hamhuis and (Keith) Ballard obviously impacted his situation here.
It wasn't really a cap decision but more of a playing decision that lead to helping us out with our salary cap situation."
As well, O'Brien spent plenty of time last season in head coach Alain Vigneault's dog house for weight infractions as well as much publicized photos depicting the defenceman enjoying the Vancouver nightlife. The Canucks surprised many by re-signing the Port Hope, Ontario native to a one-year contract this summer.
Speaking to the Vancouver Province later on Tuesday, O'Brien discussed his departure from the Canucks.
"As far as being a player, I never thought I got a fair shot here," O'Brien told the newspaper. "I never thought I had a chance from Day 1. No matter what I did for the coaching staff, I wasn't going to move up."
O'Brien also addressed some of the disputes that became public in nature.
"I felt the coaching staff just threw me to the wolves by going to the press, burying me. They made things worse than they could have been if things were kept behind closed doors. It's just the way it was going to be," said O'Brien.
The 26-year old had two goals and six assists while adding 79 penalty minutes in 65 games last season.
Meanwhile this is the second time that the 23-year old Parent has been traded this off-season after the Predators acquired him from the Flyers for the first rights to sign defenceman Dan Hamhuis. Parent had a goal and two assists in 48 games with the Flyers last season and skated in 17 playoff games where he had one goal.
The 23-year old Gendur spent the last season in the ECHL, splitting time between the Victoria Salmon Kings and Johnstown Chiefs while the 29-year old Andersson spent the season in the KHL with Dinamo Minsk.
