"Yesterday morning, Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray acknowledged frustration at not being able to acquire a star, skilled defenceman to run the power play.

The words were barely out of his mouth when the Anaheim Ducks placed veteran Mathieu Schneider on waivers in an attempt to unload his hefty $5.625-million U.S. salary.

Schneider, 39, has 212 goals and 490 assists in 1,197 career games, and would be an obvious answer to the apparent vacancy on the Senators' blue-line.

The issue, of course, is money, but if Murray was interested in picking up Schneider, he didn't have to look far yesterday to find team owner Eugene Melnyk to talk about adding the salary. Melnyk was in Ottawa yesterday to announce his plans to secure a professional soccer franchise for the nation's capital.

While the Senators can't currently fit Schneider's contract under the salary cap -- they are approximately $3.2 million below the salary cap of $56.7 million -- there is still a slim chance the club could land him.

If Schneider cleared waivers and was assigned to the American Hockey League, an NHL team could claim him on re-entry waivers, paying only half of his salary -- or $2.81 million. The Ducks would be responsible for the other half of the salary.

However, it's highly unlikely the Senators would ever get such an opportunity. The Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils are believed to be the most serious candidates to acquire Schneider. Teams have until noon today to put in a claim on Schneider. The lowest-finishing team in last year's standings gets the first shot at him."