Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Report: Red Wings likely to buy out Colaiacovo

Carlo Colaiacovo, Andrew Cogliano

Carlo Colaiacovo #28 of the Detroit Red Wings and Andrew Cogliano #7 of the Anaheim Ducks battle for the puck in the first period of Game Seven of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Honda Center on May 12, 2013 in Anaheim, California. (May 11, 2013 - Source: Jeff Gross/Getty Images North America)

30-year-old defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo’s stint with the Detroit Red Wings might be over. The team is leaning towards using a compliance buyout on him, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Colaiacovo only played in six games in 2013, in part due to a shoulder injury. He also appeared in nine playoff games, but averaged just 15:14 minutes per contest.

With the rise of 23-year-old blueliner Danny Dekeyser, it wasn’t clear if there was still a top-six defensive spot available for Colaiacovo going into the 2013-14 campaign.

Buying out Colaiacovo would save the Red Wings $2.5 million in cap space next season. He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2014.

If Colaiacovo is bought out, he’ll be joining a thin market for defenseman that will potentially be headlined by the likes of Marek Zidlicky, Joe Corvo, Ron Hainsey, Grant Clitsome, and Rob Scuderi.