On Wednesday, Red Wings GM Ken Holland decided to place defenseman Derek Meech on waivers.
Meech was signed to a one-year, $500,000 qualifying offer over the summer, which put Detroit in the driver's seat with regards to Meech's future.
At the time, the Wings were unsure of their defense situation, and securing Meech was more or less an insurance move if and when they failed to secure the veteran sixth-defenseman the team was targeting.
However, the signing of Ruslan Salei last month shored up Detroit's defense and, as such, has left Derek Meech expendable.
Now, in and of itself, I don't think saying goodbye to Derek Meech is worthy of tears.
He was certainly an energetic and eager player when given the chance to compete, but his small size and lack of all-around skill never did much to secure him a regular spot in the line-up.
However, if one goes back a couple of year to the 2008-09 season, the decision to waive Derek Meech today begins to sting quite a bit more than it should.
Back then, the Wings ended training camp with eight defenders that could legitimately play in the NHL.
The bo ...
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Article written by Matt Hutter
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