The Montreal Canadiens announced on the first day of training camp that defenseman Chris Wideman is out indefinitely due to a back injury.
Wideman had six assists and 81 penalty minutes in 46 games while averaging 13:30 of time on ice last season with the Canadiens. He compiled 51 blocked shots, which ranked him 10th among Canadiens players.
The 33-year-old is currently heading into the final year of a two-year contract extension he inked in 2022. The contract has an average annual value of $775,000. He joined the Canadiens organization in 2021-22 following a resurgence season in Russia, playing in the KHL for Torpedo Novgorod. Wideman had a good showing overseas and tallied 41 points in 59 games and added two points in the KHL playoffs. Ultimately, he was named the KHL Best Defenseman of the Year. During his first season with the Canadiens, he notched a career-high 27 points over the course of 64 games.
Wideman was initially selected No. 100 overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2009 NHL Draft. Prior to going pro, Wideman spent four seasons in the NCAA with Miami University and captured an NCAA CCHA Championship in 2010-2011, where he was named to the NCAA CCHA Second All-Star Team.
The St. Louis, Missouri product then played for the Senators’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators. During the 2014-15 campaign, Wideman notched 19 goals and 42 assists for 61 points, leading the entire AHL in points by a defenseman. He was awarded the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL Best Defenseman and played in the AHL All-Star game.
In seven years, Wideman has compiled 20 goals and 58 assists for 78 points and appeared in 291 NHL games with the Senators, Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, and Florida Panthers.
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