CuJo Unclaimed In Waiver Draft

NHL teams

"I talked to Curtis on Monday and told him that we were going to leave him unprotected in the Waiver Draft," General manager Ken Holland said. "I have talked to a number of clubs over the last two or three months trying to figure out a way to do something."

Joseph has been on the trading block since July when Dominik Hasek ended his one-year retirement and returned to the Red Wings.

"It's an uncomfortable situation for myself and Dom and management, but you make the best of it." Joseph said. "My private thoughts have been expressed to management in the proper forum."

"We want to make him feel as comfortable as we can," Brendan Shanahan said. "It's obviously very hard for him to be here."

No team has been willing to take on Joseph's contract, which pays him $16 million in the remaining two years.

There are teams that are talking to management here," said Joseph, who has a no-trade clause but hasn't given the Wings a list of teams for which he's willing to play. "But obviously a deal has to be struck first before anything can happen."

He also had surgery in August to remove bone chips from his right ankle and skated for the first time Tuesday. He probably won't be ready until the regular season.

"There's no time line," Joseph said. But the ankle "certainly feels better today than it did six weeks ago."

Joseph signed with the Red Wings before 2002-03 season after playing 13 seasons with St. Louis, Edmonton and Toronto.