Isn't that the second time this year? They are really trying to get rid of him.
Yes, but I don't think it's because they are trying to get rid of him. Yzerman knows full well that another team isn't going to do them a favor and claim a 35YO oft injured dman with a $4.25M cap hit.
When he was waived the first time, it was more or less a conditioning stint since him missed the end of last year, most of the preseason and the start of this year with various injuries and since they knew he wasn't getting claimed.
This time it's probably more for roster flexibility from now until the trade deadline since Mantha and Nielsen came off IR, Fabbri/Bowey and probably Perlini are day-to-day without being on IR, and they only have one guy on the roster who's waiver exempt (Lindstrom). With Ericsson cleared they can send him down on paper if they need to recall another player in a pinch. They did the same thing a couple years ago with David Booth since they figured no one would claim him.
Since he cleared yesterday, the Wings have yet to send Ericsson to GR and still have room for him on the roster. If he does go down, it'll likely be temporary since they'll need a warm body or two on D when Daley and/or Green are traded.