Avalanche place Orpik on waivers for purpose of buyout

Less than 24 hours after acquiring his services, the Colorado Avalanche placed rearguard Brooks Orpik on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying out his contract, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Related: Capitals trade Grubauer, Orpik to Avalanche

Orpik was sent to Colorado along with former Capitals teammate and backup netminder Philipp Grubauer in exchange for Colorado's 47th pick in this year's draft. But it's become clear the Avs were focused on Grubauer as the focal point of the deal, and always intended on buying Orpik out of the final year of his contract (he has a cap hit of $5.5 million).

The 37-year-old is fresh off a Stanley Cup run with the Caps. Orpik played all 24 postseason games while registering one goal and four assists, so he should have some teams interested in adding his veteran skill set.

Orpik was a first-round selection of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2000 NHL Draft.