Edmonton Oilers place veterans Sheldon Souray, Martin Gerber on waivers

EDMONTON - The Edmonton Oilers have placed defenceman Sheldon Souray and goaltender Martin Gerber on waivers.

The other 29 NHL teams have until noon ET on Friday to put in a claim for either player.

If that doesn't happen, the Oilers have the option to send the veterans to AHL Oklahoma City. They could also subject them to re-entry waivers, where any team putting in a claim would only be on the hook for half of the salary—with Edmonton paying the rest.

That might be the most logical option for Souray, who has two years remaining on his contract at US$5.4 million each.

The 34-year-old has long been awaiting a trade after things went sour between him and the organization. Souray wasn't invited to training camp and has been working out on his own while the Oilers try to find somewhere else for him to play.

Gerber is on a one-year deal that he signed over the summer. It's a two-way contract that sees him earn $500,000 in the NHL or $200,000 in the AHL.

He spent last season in the Russian-based KHL and was unable to win a spot with the NHL team. Nikolai Khabibulin, Jeff Deslauriers and Devan Dubnyk are still in camp with the Oilers.

Also Thursday, the Oilers assigned forward Colin McDonald and defencemen Taylor Chorney, Jeff Petry and Alex Plante to the AHL.