The Ottawa Senators and Los Angeles Kings on Friday placed goaltenders Ray Emery and Dan Cloutier on waivers in the first step toward buying out the remainder of their contracts.

Emery, 25, has two years at $3.167 million per season remaining on his contract while Cloutier, 32, has one year at $3.1 million remaining on his.

Once the two clear waivers the Senators and Kings can then buy them out.

It's quite the downfall for two netminders who, while not among the elite of the NHL, were once considered very good starting goaltenders.

Emery has re-signed his current contract with the Senators last summer but a combination of injury and other issues saw him lose his starter's role to Martin Gerber last season.

Cloutier's decline over the past three years was injury-related, specifically a nagging hip ailment which required surgery two years ago.

It'll cost the Kings two thirds the remaining value of Cloutier's contract spread over twice the remaining tenure, meaning it'll be just over $1 million per season over the next two years.

Emery, because he's under-26 at the time of the buyout, is only entitled to a one-third buyout of his remaining contract value over twice the remaining tenure, breaking down to over $560K per season for the next four years.

Both will become unrestricted free agents in July. Emery might still find employment in the NHL but Cloutier's NHL career is probably over.