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As expected, Leafs waive Cowen for buyout purposes

Toronto Maple Leafs v Ottawa Senators

OTTAWA, ON - JANUARY 21: Jared Cowen #2 of the Ottawa Senators prepares for a faceoff against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Canadian Tire Centre on January 21, 2015 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)

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The Jared Cowen era in Toronto is over, and what an era it wasn’t.

Cowen, acquired as part of the Dion Phaneuf blockbuster with Ottawa, was placed on waivers today by the Maple Leafs, a precursor to the club buying him out of his contract.

The former ninth overall pick never played a game for Toronto after being acquired. Dealing with a hip injury that’s dogged him throughout his career, Cowen was sent home shortly after the Phaneuf trade.

The Leafs didn’t want to risk playing him and potentially re-aggravating the injury, because the goal all along was to buy Cowen out.

See, Cowen has a curious clause in his deal -- per Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, any team that buys out Cowen this summer gets a salary cap credit of $650,000.

The 25-year-old rearguard -- the ninth overall pick in 2009 -- has one year left on his four-year, $12.4 million deal.

Of course, once the buyout’s complete, that won’t be of concern for teams looking to acquire him -- and it’s safe to assume there will be teams looking.

Despite questions about his mobility, Cowen is still a 6-foot-5, 240-pound defenseman that showed some promise early in his career.