3 players waived on Monday just days before trade deadline.

Teams around the National Hockey League are making space on their respective rosters ahead of the trade deadline later this week and Monday was no exception with 3 teams around the league placing a player on waivers.

The Detroit Red Wings have placed veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson on waivers with the intention likely to return him to the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins. Gustafsson has appeared in just 2 games for the Red Wings this season and has collected no points at the NHL level, spending 22 games in the AHL where he has 2 goals and 18 assists for 20 points.

Although Gustafsson is a serviceable depth option the fact that he carries a cap hit of $2 million per season suggests to me that he will go unclaimed.

The Seattle Kraken have placed 31 year old defenseman Gustav Olofsson on waivers with Olofsson also likely headed back to the AHL after playing in no games for the Kraken since being called up. Olofsson has 2 goals and 14 assists for 16 points over 29 games with the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds this season.

Olofsson carries a cap hit of just $775,000 but with only 63 career games of NHL experience I would be shocked if he gets claimed.

The Minnesota Wild have waived veteran forward Tyler Pitlick who may be the most interesting option available on waivers today. Pitlick has 2 goals this season over 34 games with the Minnesota Wild and brings a wealth of experience to the table with over 450 games of NHL experience under his belt. At a cap hit of just $775,000 he is a low risk pickup as well, although Pitlick is in the 1st year of a 2 year deal which may give teams some pause.