krease

Um... There's a reason he was bought out instead of traded - nobody would take him. The two years he played for the Canucks were the best of his career - putting up roughly half those numbers per year since. He is still a liability defensively - he was with the Canucks too but we were able to hide that a lot more than the Sabres could. He will be picked up by another team no doubt, as he's still an NHL calibre defence man, but not worth the 4 mil Buffalo was paying him. I think someone will probably sign him for a short term deal worth 2.5-3 mil per year.

This is exactly it - people are looking to get the best return without giving up a current roster player, and to do that, you need to look at options that one of your best prospects can get you.