Rumor: Former NHL captain will be asked to waive his no-trade clause.

A former National Hockey League captain is expected to be asked to waive his no-trade clause.

While the Ottawa Senators may not be looking to trade former Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf before the trade deadline, it does sound like he will be asked to give up his no-trade protection this summer.

From Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun:

It’s widely believed the Senators will protect Cody Ceci and Marc Methot along with Erik Karlsson, and ask Dion Phaneuf to waive his no-move..."

This is a decision seemingly motivated by the expansion draf, and according to Brennan the Senators feel tha,t even if exposed, Phaneuf would remain unclaimed at his current $7 million cap hit.

The timing here is particularly curious as this week the Senators spent a great deal of time talking up Phaneuf's contributions to the team since being traded by the Maple Leafs despite his poor analytics this season. Asking him to waive his no-trade after spending so much time building up his value in the press will certainly have some question Ottawa's true motives here.