A contract year is supposed to be a chance for a player to break out. It’s an opportunity to show your current team what you can do but also a time when you can grab the attention of other teams around the league.
For Senators defenceman Chris Wideman, who is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, his contract year was a bit of a nightmare.
Of course it didn’t start out that way for the 28 year old St. Louis native.
Wideman had spent the previous season primarily playing on the team’s third pairing but looked like he was ready to take on a bigger role. And after he notched a goal and an assist on opening night against the Washington Capitals, all signs pointed to a career year for slick skating defenceman.
He would put up 8 points in the first 16 games of the season and posted strong underlying numbers despite regularly playing less than 10 minutes a night. He was on track to shatter his career-high of 17 points and was already closing in on a career high in goals. And the team around him way off to a solid start.
And then with one random although not entirely accidental collision, Wideman’s season came to a disappointing end.
Wideman tore his hamstring on the play and required what would end up being season-ending surgery. He tried to make a comeback late in the year and by all reports was getting close but the doctors advised against it.
So now Wideman enters unrestricted free agency and what should be one of the most important summers of his NHL career, with his future very much in doubt. While Wideman has certainly done enough in his 156 games in the NHL to earn a contract somewhere, it won’t be anything near what it would have been had he been able to play the year out.
And after nine years in the organization, it has also left his future with the Senators in doubt. To this point, the team hasn’t really given an indication one way or the other when it comes to their plans for Wideman. Bruce Garrioch speculated late in the season that there may not be room for Wideman but Dorion didn’t really given an indication what their plans are during any of his season-ending interviews.
While Wideman has only been in Ottawa for three years, he has quickly made his presence felt in the community.
He grabbed headlines back in February when he invited fans to join him on the outdoor rink at Dovercourt and during his rehab, he spent time visiting kids at the Boys and Girls Club. Wideman is well-spoken and has represented the organization well both on and off the ice.
Wideman made $800,000 last year and despite the injury, should still be in line for a modest raise on his new deal. The Senators currently have just three defenceman on one way deals for next season (Karlsson, Borowiecki, Harpur) and a couple players on two way deals that are expected to be on the team (Chabot, Wolanin). Cody Ceci and Freddy Claesson are both restricted free agents.
It certainly seems like there’s still room back there and watching the team play without him over the course of the last five months of the season, there is quite clearly still a need for Wideman’s puck moving abilities in the line up.
Pierre Dorion has a lot of difficult decisions to make this summer but assuming Wideman is interested in a return, this one should be pretty straightforward.
We’ll find out in the next couple months.
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