Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

ANAHEIM, Calif.-- Waivers didn't help the Detroit Red Wings as much as they needed.

Defenseman Jakub Kindl cleared waivers at noon today, as no other NHL team put in a claim for the 28-year-old. That enables the Wings to send Kindl to the minors, but only offers $950,000 in salary cap relief from Kindl's $2.4 million salary cap hit.

General manager Ken Holland told the Free Press that alone is not enough to make the Wings cap compliant after removing defenseman Kyle Quincey from long-term injured reserve. The plan is to activate Quincey on Monday, and have him play that night at Los Angeles.

Most immediately, plans are to have Kindl with the Wings through tonight, when the Wings play at Anaheim. If anyone gets hurt, that may solve the situation. If not, Holland said he'd have to make another move.

The easiest move would be to send down rookie defenseman Alexey Marchenko, because he does not need waivers. However, coach Jeff Blashill has used Marchenko every game since he was called up in mid-October, and it has been months since he was told to get his own place in the Detroit area (rather than live out of a hotel, as call-ups often do).

Any trade would require the Wings not to receive a player in return.

Resorting to waivers is another possibility. Forward Joakim Andersson ($815,000 salary cap hit) is often a healthy scratch and would appear vulnerable.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames

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