OTTAWA, Ontario -- Bobby Ryan was placed on waivers by the Ottawa Senators on Friday for the purpose of a buyout.

Ryan, 33, won the Masterton Trophy, the NHL's award for perseverance, on Sept. 7 after publicly sharing his battle with alcohol issues. He entered the NHL/NHL Players' Assistance program on Nov. 20 to get help for his addiction issues.

Ryan has two years left on his contract at a $7.25 million cap hit and was owed $15 million in real cash. Buying out the contract will save the Senators $3.67 million in cap space in each of the next two seasons, but add a cap charge of $1.83 million in each of the following two years.

Ryan had five goals and eight points in 24 games for Ottawa this season. He has 254 goals and 301 assists in 883 games in 13 NHL seasons with the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa. He was drafted second overall by Anaheim in 2005.