from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

With uncertainty swirling around the start of the NHL season and in what capacity, if any, the AHL can function in 2020-21, cutting Justin Abdelkader makes sense.

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman placed Abdelkader on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout Tuesday, a decision that will cost the Wings salary cap room for six years, but will open a roster spot.

Under normal circumstances, the Wings could have waived Abdelkader and, once he cleared, assigned him to the Grand Rapids Griffins. That would have created roster room and provided a little more than $1 million in salary cap relief on Abdelkader’s $4.25 million average annual hit.

Taking that path, however, was waylaid by the pandemic.

continued