Vancouver Canucks place Shane O'Brien and Darcy Hordichuk on waivers

The Vancouver Canucks have put two of their toughest and most-penalized players on waivers.

Defenceman Shane O'Brien and forward Darcy Hordichuk have been with the team for the past two seasons.

The team still needs to get underneath the salary cap, and dumping O'Brien's $1.6-million pay package brings them closer to that goal. He scored two goals and 16 assists in two seasons with the team, while serving 275 minutes in the penalty box.

Hordichuk would have earned $800,000 this year. He scored five goals and two assists in two seasons, and spent 251 minutes in the penalty box.

A player who is being considered for an unconditional release must first be offered on waivers, which enables any team to claim him and accept his contract.