The Washington Capitals have officially bought out Jeff Schultz. Schultz cleared waivers on Wednesday to pave the way for a compliance buyout. The Washington Capitals will save $2.75 million in cap space next season.

Jeff Schultz cleared waivers Wednesday and will likely be bought out. Schultz will become an unrestricted free agent once the buyout is official and the Capitals will save $2.75 million on their cap for next season. Schultz played in just 26 games this season and didn't dress at all in the playoffs. He averaged just 14:15 minutes of ice time per game.

Washington Capitals place Jeff Schultz on unconditional waivers. This is a precursor to a compliance buyout, which means Schultz will become an unrestricted free agent. GM George McPhee previously admitted he was trying to trade Schultz but clearly didn't get enough of an offer to actually move him. Schultz has one year and $3 million left on his contract. The Capitals will save $2.75 million on their cap if they buy him out.

Capitals GM George McPhee confirmed that he's trying to trade Jeff Schultz. Schultz requested a trade in mid-March and made his desire to be moved public this week. "If someone wants to be traded, we'll trade him," McPhee said. "It doesn't matter who it is. If you don't want to play for us, we'll move you. Washington is a great place to play- it's a great team, a great city, we've got great fans and if you don't want to be part of it, we'll move you." McPhee gave Schultz credit for coming and putting in the trade request directly rather than going through his agent. Although McPhee didn't address the possibility of buying out Schultz contract, it might make sense for him to do so if they can't find a willing trading partner. Schultz comes with a $2.75 million cap hit and would likely serve as a seventh defenseman with Washington if he stayed for the 2013-14 campaign.

Jeff Schultz confirmed that he wants the Washington Capitals to trade him. Schultz played in just 26 games in 2013 and wasn't used in the playoffs. He averaged just 14:15 minutes per contest. "My agent and I thought there has got to be somewhere else where a team needs a player like myself and I can be utilized a lot more than I was here," Schultz said. "It was like I was a young first year player again with them. They didn't have that trust in me that they could put me out there in tough situations or even in the third period." If the Capitals can't find a new home for him, they might just use a compliance buyout to spare themselves of his $2.75 million cap hit.

Jeff Schultz reportedly wants to be traded because of the lack of playing time he has been receiving over the past two seasons. Schultz dressed in just 26 games with the Capitals during the truncated season and he was a healthy scratch for the vast majority of the matches he missed. He went through a similar situation in 2011-12 when he skated in 54 contests. According his agent, Jarrett Bousquet, Schultz asked to be moved in mid-March.

After spending four straight games in the press box, Jeff Schultz will be back in the Capitals' lineup on Saturday. "Sometimes you ask a guy to take a step back and re-evaluate themselves and we've got two games in two nights and we need him. We need his size, we need him to be a force and hopefully a little bit of a wakeup call," said Capitals Coach Adam Oates. Schultz is a defensive defenseman with three points in 24 games this season.

The Capitals blocked an incredible 26 shots in their 3-2 win over the Rangers Saturday night. Jeff Schultz led the way with nine, two more than the entire New York team. If you are looking for a reason the Caps were able to defeat the Rangers Saturday, that's a pretty good place to start.

Jeff Schultz will play in Game 2 of the second round on Monday after being scratched from Saturday's contest. Schultz has no points and a minus-four rating in four playoff games. He had six points and 12 penalty minutes in 54 regular season contests.

Jeff Schultz is expected to return to the Caps' blue line for Wednesday's Game 7 at Boston. Schultz took John Erskine's place with Dennis Wideman on the D's third pair during Tuesday's practice. Prior to being a healthy scratch for Games 4-6, Schultz was pointless and minus-4 in the first three games while averaging 13:00.